Colby Holmes pitched eight shut out innings as the Gamecocks found some offense and shut out the Jaspers 7-0 in Columbia today.

Coming off a less-than-stellar start in his last outing, Holmes was virtually flawless this afternoon. He lasted eight innings and allowed only one hit. He didn’t issue any walks and tallied nine strike outs, a career high. He also hit a batter early in the game.

If it hadn’t been for a rain delay at the end of the game, he likely would’ve gone for the complete game. He obviously earned the win, improving his record to 7-1.

Patrick Sullivan came in to handle the final inning when the game resumed and gave up no hits or walks, while striking out two. Manhattan starter Taylor Sewitt went six innings and gave up four runs on four hits. He walked five and K’d three. Sewitt took the loss and dropped to 11-2 on the season.

Even though he was saddled with the loss, Sewitt should be proud of his performance today. He had a no-hitter throough five innings and proved that he definitely has quality stuff.

Both teams were hitless until the bottom of the sixth, when Joey Pankake recorded the first hit of the game with a solid double to left center. Evan Marzilli followed that with a single, and Christian Walker walked to load the bases with no outs. LB Dantzler and pinch hitter Michael Roth both recorded outs, but then the real fun started.

Adam Matthews singled to right field to bring in two runs, putting the Cocks on top. Tanner English then smacked a triple to bring in two more runs and make it 4-0.

Manahttan got their first hit in the 8th inning. Unfortunately for the Jaspers, they couldn’t capitalize and left the runner stranded.

» Continue reading “Holmes Throws Gem, Carolina Blanks Manhattan”

Sorry I’ve been MIA in all week, but gameday is finally here, and I’m finally back.
The Gamecocks (40-17) will meet the Jaspers (33-25) later this afternoon at Carolina Stadium. Carolina is the No. 8 national seed and No. 1 seed in the Columbia Regional, while Manhattan is the No. 4 seed in the Regional.

USC will be without the talents of the injured Grayson Greiner, and Dante Rosenberg will take over behind the plate.

The loss of Greiner is obviously unfortunate, but South Carolina is no stranger to adversity in post-season play. Their mantras of “battle” and “win anyway” have served them well before, so it’s likely they’ll invoke those same sentiments this time around.

This team has a good amount of guys who have been here before, but there are also plenty of freshmen who are just getting their first taste of NCAA Tournament play. Everyone’s going to need to step up and play their best if the Cocks want to get back to Omaha and go for the threepeat as CWS champs.

Michael Roth will not start today’s game for Carolina; Colby Holmes will instead get the nod. Roth will go tomorrow. Taylor Sewitt will handle pitching duties for the Jaspers.

In other news, Roth is racking up honors left and right. He was named to the Capital One Academic All-America First Team for the second straight year, took a quick trip to Destin, Florida last night to accept the McWhorter Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, and is in the running for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award (he’s currently in thrid place, vote here everyday).

He’s received a variety of other conference honors, too, and just graduated with a degree in international business and a grade point average near 4.o. Not too shabby.

Today’s game was originally scheduled to begin at 4 ET, but after a weather delay in the Clemson-Coastal game currently being played, our start time is approximately 5:20 ET.

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”