The most beautiful host site of them all.

It’s almost too good to be true.

For the second straight year, the Gamecocks were chosen as one of the top eight national seeds and will host a Regional. This year, Manhattan, Coastal Carolina, and our pals from TigerTown will travel to the famously hot capital as part of the Columbia Regional.

The No. 1 Yardcocks will take on the No. 4 Jaspers, while the No. 2 Tigers will face off against the No. 3 Chanticleers.

The guys from Manhattan may feel like the odd men out, considering Carolina, Clemson, and Coastal are no strangers to each other. There isn’t really any bad blood with the Chants, but between the Gamecocks and the Tigers, therre’s more than enough.

CU coach Jack Leggett has become a target recently after him comments about USC having heated bats and other nonsense, so it’ll be interesting to see if any other shenanigans arise, should these two teams meet. It wouldn’t be the first time the Cocks and Tigers have met in the postseason, and if they were to meet up again, there would be plenty of…excitement, shall we say, from fans and players on both sides.

South Carolina coach Ray Tanner spoke today following the announcement. He and a few players will talk with the media again this afternoon.

“Our fans our great, tickets are hard to come by, but it takes it to another level right now with ticket sales,” Tanner said. “It’s an exciting time for college baseball and we look forward to getting under way.”

» Continue reading “Coastal, Clemson, and Manhattan Coming To Town For Gamecocks’ Regional”

Evan Marzilli's diving catch was one of the few positives for USC tonight.

Hoover is not kind to the Gamecocks.

After scraping by with a 5-3 victory yesterday, South Carolina managed barely any offense and fell to Florida tonight by a score of 7-2. They are done in the conference tournament and will await the announcement of regional host sites on Sunday. Their record is 40-17 overall.

Florida scored early, easily, and often tonight. They got on the board in the first inning when Mike Zunino (whose name I got really tired of hearing) knocked an RBI single to bring Nolan Fontana (whose name I love) home from third.

They tacked on another run in the next inning, when Josh Tobias got an RBI single of his own to score Casey Turgeon.

Things only got worse as Zunino homered in the third, a two-run shot that made the score 4-0. That was enough to end USC starting pitcher Colby Holmes’ day. Unfortunately for the Yardcocks, the Gators still had runs left to score.

In the fifth inning and with the bases loaded, reliever Evan Beal walked in a run, giving UF a 5-0 lead. He struck out the next batter, but was then touched for a two-run single by Turgeon. Those were the last two runs that would come in for the Gators, but the hole was far too deep for Carolina.

USC finally got on the board in the sixth, after Tanner English legged out an infield single and Chase Vergason singled to put runners on the corners. Joey Pankake brought English home while also grounding into a double play. That ended the shutout, but still left the boys in garnet down by six with only a few innings to go.

In the bottom of the ninth and down to their final out, Evan Marzilli smacked a double to left field which Christian Walker followed with an RBI single to make the score 7-2. Sadly, that was the end of the rally.

» Continue reading “SEC Tournament: Cocks Get Chomped, Eliminated”

Senior captain Adam Matthews deserves a gold star for his play today.

Finally, some offense found its way back to the team tonight as the Cocks defeated the Tigers 5-3 in Hoover.

Carolina got on the board first, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning thanks to a sac fly RBI from Christian Walker. They added another run in the second, when Erik Payne laced an RBI double into left center.

Two more runs came across in the fourth inning, when Adam Matthews knocked an RBI single. Later in the inning and with the bases loaded, Joey Pankake was walked to force in a run.

The fifth inning saw USC tack on two more runs, as Matthews notched another RBI single. He then stole second, but was stranded.

Auburn also scored in the fifth inning, getting one run in on a one-out sac fly RBI from Dan Glevenyak. The Tigers scored one run each in the sixth and eighth innings, but that was all they’d get. The Cocks had a chance to blow the game open in the seventh, but left the bases juiced.

Starter Michael Roth was excellent, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing just two runs on seven hits. He issued no walks and struck out five batters. Roth earned the win and improves to 6-1 on the season. Matt Price came in to finish things off and gave up one run on two hits in 2 2/3 innings. He K’d four and also didn’t walk anybody. Price now has 10 saves this year. Auburn starter Cory Luckie lasted only two innings and took the loss, dropping his record to 2-2.

» Continue reading “SEC Tournament: Yardcocks Find Offense, Top Auburn”

South Carolina fell to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament tonight by a score of 3-2. They’ll take on Auburn tomorrow at 5:30 ET in an elimination game. I’m falling asleep at my computer because grad school has stolen every last bit of my energy, so this meme will have to do in lieu of a recap. It really says it all, anyway. The end.

P.S. This drawing in this meme has always kind of creeped me out.

It almost had to happen this way.

Always having to make it interesting, South Carolina, the team that’s made battling, winning anyway, and fearing a fish their MO, won the SEC East today by virtue of two other teams losing. More on that in a minute.

In today’s rubber game with LSU, the Gamecocks lost a chance at being named the conference champion by falling 3-2 in extra innings.

The Tigers got on the board in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead, but Carolina evened the score in the third on an Adam Matthews sac fly that brought Evan Marzilli home from third. The game stayed knotted at 1-1 forever, until the Tigers scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning.

With runners on first and second and two outs, pinch hitter Jackson Slaid laced a single off reliever Tyler Webb that gave LSU a 2-1 lead. Mason Katz added an RBI single of his own, which gave the Tigers an insurance run. Carolina responded in the bottom of the inning, as Marzilli doubled and Matthews singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. Christian Walker hit a sac fly to pull the Cocks within one, but that was all they’d get.

South Carolina outhit LSU 9-7. Marzilli and Matthews led the Yardcocks at the plate, both going 2-for-4. LSU’s leader was Katz, who went 2-for-5. He was the only Tiger with more than one hit.

USC starter Colby Holmes and his heinous facial hair had a solid performance, throwing 6 2/3 innings and allowing only one run on four hits. He issued no walks and struck out three batters, and received a very nice ovation as he left the field. Nolan Belcher, Evan Beal, Webb, Hunter Privette, and Logan Munson all saw action today. Beal took the loss and drops to 3-4 on the season. LSU reliever Chris Cotton earned the win and improves to 6-0 this year. Nick Goody got the save, his tenth.

With the victory, LSU earned at least part of the SEC title. When Kentucky was swept by Mississippi State, that gave the Tigers the conference championship outright. Though the Gamecocks lost their shot at the SEC crown, they did win the East title. Thanks to that UK loss as well as Florida falling to Auburn, Carolina comes out on top. This is USC’s sixth SEC East championship.

That means that the Gamecocks will be the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament and will have a bye on Tuesday, which means they’ll play on Wednesday night. Hopefully some offensive mojo (Fear The Fish?) will find its way to the team by then.

Game 1: A weak offensive performance from the Yardcocks led to a 5-2 LSU victory Friday afternoon in Columbia.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first and made it 2-0 in the fourth. Joey Pankake finally got USC on the board in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single, cutting LSU’s lead to only one run. Unfortunately, the Tigers responded in the fifth inning with a solo homer.

The Cocks kept the game within reach until the ninth, when LSU added two more runs and took a 5-1 lead. Pankake had another RBI single in the bottom of the inning, but that was as far as the rally would go.

He led Carolina at the plate, going 2-for-4. Mason Katz and Jordy Snikeris were LSU’s leaders. They also went 2-for-4 and were responsible for the Tigers’ two home runs. The Gamecocks were outhit 12-5, and the only area in which LSU was outperformed was in the number of men left on base. USC stranded six, the Tigers left 10.

South Carolina starter Michael Roth pitched eight innings and allowed three runs on 10 hits. He walked four batters and also struck out four. He took the loss, his first this year, and is now 5-1 on the season. Patrick Sullivan and Logan Munson combined to pitch the final inning. Munson was perfect, but Sullivan gave up two runs on two hits. Neither issued or walks or tallied and K’s. LSU’s Kevin Gausman pitched a complete game and allowed only two runs on five hits. He walked two batters and struck out six. With the win, his record improves to 9-1.

» Continue reading “Gamecocks, Tigers Split Doubleheader”

It’s a very special day for this site: this is the 300th post, and it’s also Cocky Country’s first birthday!

I began covering Carolina at the end of baseball’s regular season last year, and from there got to write about a lot of history, including the team becoming back to back CWS champs, the football team’s first 11-win season, and the women’s basketball team’s run through the NCAA Tournament.

I’ve written about the less positive, albeit big, things in the past year, too: Stephen Garcia’s saga, the NCAA violations, and the disaster that was USC men’s hoops this season.

I’d like to thank all y’all for reading, for commenting, and for following Cocky Country on twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus. I love hearing your feedback and thoughts on stories and during games as I live-tweet!

It’s hard to believe that the site’s been around for a year already, but it’s been such a fun and rewarding experience for me so far, and I’m so glad I’ve gotten to share with all of you out there in Gamecock Nation!

Women’s Basketball: Congrats to Dawn Staley, who was named the Female Coach of the Year by Black Coaches and Administrators! In the 2011-12 season, Staley led the Gamecocks to their best record in a decade, 25-10. The ladies made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament as well, advancing to the Sweet 16. They also achieved a number of firsts, including three players being named to the All-SEC Second Team and reaching the semifinals in the SEC Tournament. Staley has improved the program each year and in her four years as the coach at Carolina, she has an overall record of 67-58. Congrats to Coach Staley on this well-deserved honor!

Baseball: Mother Nature must be mad at the Yardcocks. After Sunday’s rubber game against Georgia was rained out, tonght’s predetermined split against USC Upstate was a washout out, too. Hevay rain and lightning parked themselves over Columbia all night, and after a lengthy delay, ti was determined that the game, which was less than two complete innings in, would not be resumed. It will not be rescheduled. The team did take advantage of the wet conditions, though, and decided to make the tarp covering the field into a giant slip ‘n’ slide. I hope Reptar avoided danger.

Rain delay fun, Carolina-style.

Freshman catcher Grayson Greiner has been named to the USA Collegiate National Baseball Team, it was announced today.

As the starting catcher, Greiner has had a very successful first season in the garnet and black. He was named SEC Freshman of the Week in mid-April, following South Carolina’s sweep of Mississippi State. The week before that series, he hit a grand slam against The Citadel. He was a stud in the Arkansas series as well, and was one of the main reasons the Yardcocks were successful against the Razorbacks. Greiner is currently hitting .247 and has 37 hits on the season. He’s homered six times and scored 21 runs.

Greiner is the third consecutive Gamecock to be named to the squad. Christian Walker was selected last year (though his injury prevented him from playing) and Jackie Bradley, Jr. was chosen in 2010. In total, nine USC players have been named to the team. This is the first time Carolina has had guys chosen back to back to back, though.

Congrats to Grayson on this well-deserved honor!

Today’s rubber game between South Carolina and Georgia was set to begin at 2 ET. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans.

The SEC has a rule about Sunday games affected by weather: the game has to start by 4 pm, and if it goes into another delay, it can’t restart more than two hours later.

USC and UGA had gotten special permission to play no matter what, considering the conference standings, but there was apparently no way to get the game in today. The radar showed monsoon-style weather for the foreseeable future, and so the game was called. It will not be rescheduled.

Why can’t they just make the game up tomorrow, you ask? Another SEC rule: a team has a weekend to play three games, and the series can’t carry over to Monday because players would miss class. Yes, school is over for the year at both South Carolina and Georgia, but it doesn’t matter. There aren’t “summer rules”.

In this case, I think an exception should be made. This was going to be a pivotal game, and it’s unfair that it won’t get to happen, especially because permission to play regardless of time constraints had already been given and because the guys don’t have to get back for classes tomorrow.

This wouldn’t be nearly as much of a big deal if the pennant race in the conference weren’t so close.

Kentucky holds a half-game lead on Carolina, since they played a double header yesterday because of imminent weather threats for today. The Cocks and Dawgs thought they’d be able to get their game in, so they didn’t play two yesterday. If only they’d known.

» Continue reading “Rubber Game Rain Out Unfair To Gamecocks?”