One word to describe this first SEC home series: ugh.

The Gamecocks were hardly impressive this weekend, looking flat in all three games they played against Arkansas. Today, they dropped the series finale 5-3 for the first sweep at home by an opponent since 1996.

USC was first on the board this afternoon. Chase Vergason got a booboo and a free base, then moved to second on a balk. Joey Pankake, who has mercifully shaved off that mustache he had, grounded out to advance Vergason to third, and LB Dantzler singled to bring Vergason in and make it 1-0 in favor of the home team.

That lead was short-lived, though, as the Hogs tied things up in the top of the second. Brian Anderson led off with a walk, Matt Vinson doubled to right, and Dominic Ficociello grounded out to get Anderson across home plate.

Arkansas took the lead in the top of the fourth. Anderson started with a single, Vinson laid down a sac bunt, and Ficociello advanced Anderson with another groundout. Then Willie Schwanke, Jake Wise, and Jacob Mahan laced back-to-back-to-back singles to bring in two runs and make it 3-1 Razorbacks.

Things were quiet for both teams until the bottom of the seventh, when the Cocks tied things up. Grayson Greiner coaxed a one-out walk, Connor Bright reached first on a fielding error, and Erik Payne came through with a RBI single. Sean Sullivan and Tanner English then took back-to-back runs, which made it 3-3.

South Carolina had a golden opportunity to put themselves on top in the eighth, but they left the bases loaded. Neither team was able to add to their run total before the end of nine innings, which meant free baseball in Cola. There was nothing doing for anyone in the tenth inning, but Arkansas got it done in the top of the eleventh.

» Continue reading “Lackluster Offense Dooms South Carolina, Razorbacks Sweep Series”

Despite the loss, Belcher had another good outing today.

After rain pushed back the start time of today’s game, the Cocks came out and gave a limp performance against the Razorbacks, which led to a 4-2 loss.

The first four and a half innings of this game were a fantastic pitcher’s duel, as Nolan Belcher gave up just three hits and Ryne Stanek allowed just one. A little offensive production from the home team would have been nice, but at least the Hogs weren’t getting much, either.

The Gamecocks were the first ones on the board. Grayson Greiner led off the bottom of the fifth, and got to first, then second, on a fielding error. Connor Bright laid down a sac bunt to move Greiner to third, and Chase Vergason hit a sac fly to get Greiner across home plate and make it 1-0 USC.

The Hogs answered in the top of the sixth. Jacob Mahan started the inning with a single, Joe Serrano laid down a sac bunt, and Tyler Spoon singled to left to bring Mahan in and tie the game.

Arkansas took the lead in the next inning. Dominic Ficociello reached first on a throwing error by Joey Pankake, Willie Schwanke laid down a sac bunt to advance Ficociello, and Jake Wise grounded out, which moved Ficociello to third. He came home on a bunt single from Jacob Morris to put the Razorbacks on top 2-1. Mahan followed that with a RBI base hit of his own, as Pankake made another throwing error and Morris came in to make it 3-1.

Both teams tallied their final run in the eighth inning. The Hogs got theirs when Matt Vinson belted a one-out solo homer. The Cocks’ came when Bright knocked a one-out single, made it to second on a throwing error, and crossed the dish thanks to a RBI from George Iskenderian.

» Continue reading “Flat Yardcocks Lose Another Game (And The Series) To Arkansas”

The Mighty Sound of the Southeast sent some love to Marcus Lattimore this afternoon.

Happy Homecoming, y’all!

No. 8 South Carolina cruised to a 38-20 win over Arkansas in Columbia this afternoon. With the victory, the Gamecocks kept their BCS bowl game hopes alive. Sadly, Alabama’s loss tonight pretty much killed any shot at the Sugar Bowl, which means USC would have to hope for an at-large bid to a different game. I don’t have a lot of hope for that, but never say never, I guess.

Carolina got the scoring started two-thirds of the way through the first quarter, when Jerell Adams caught his first TD pass to put them up 7-0. The Razorbacks tied things up with just over eight minutes remaining in the second half, but the Cocks took back the lead less than three minutes later on a TD run by Connor Shaw. Arkansas got all the way down to the USC 3-yard line on their next possession, but had to settle for a field goal.

With about two minutes left in the half and acing 4th-and-5, Spurrier decided to go for it, and it paid off. Shaw, who had jogged off the field, went back out and hit a wide open Bruuuuuuuuce Ellington for 42 yards and another touchdown.

The Gamecocks got the ball to start the second half, and put up a field goal less than four minutes in. Things really got interesting after that. Brison Williams was flagged for a horse collar and D.J. Swearinger got called for hitting a defenseless player. Unimpressed with that call, Swearinger turned around and intercepted Tyler Wilson’s next pass, then took it 69 yards to the house to put South Carolina up 30-10. He was also penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct because he threw the ball into the stands after scoring, which he called “a stress reliever” after the game.

» Continue reading “Cocks Trounce Razorbacks For Homecoming Victory”

A lot has happened since the No. 8 Gamecocks last took the field two weeks ago:

• A rally/birthday celebration was held for Marcus Lattimore, who wanted USC fans everywhere to know that he’ll be back
• Lattimore had surgery on his knee and has already begun the rehabbing process
• Lattimore’s name is also now up on a ramp banner at Williams-Brice, which honors him for having the most touchdowns in school history
• Connor Shaw injured his foot, but is good to go now
• Kelcy Quarles is healed up and back in action
• Some players in the secondary have shifted positions: Devonte Holloman (safety instead of spur), D.J. Swearinger (corner instead of safety), and Damario Jeffery (spur instead of linebacker)

Kenny Miles will take over the role of No. 1 RB for the Gamecocks now.

Carolina is back in action today for their final SEC game of the year. It comes against the Razorbacks, who have struggled much more than anyone probably expected this season. They will also be without a top player, as Knile Davis did not dress for warm-ups and seemingly will not play.

Obviously the lack of Lattimore is the story of the day and everyone misses him, but South Carolina has guys ready and willing to take over. Kenny Miles will be the go-to RB for the Gamecocks today, and Mike Davis will almost certainly see time, too. Brandon Wilds has been redshirted for the season, but removing that status has not been ruled out completely either (though I think it probably should be).

USC will likely have to mix in a combination of running and passing, though, if they want to beat the Hogs. While Arkansas may be down this year, they’re not horrible, and they could capitalize on mistakes made by Carolina.

» Continue reading “Hoping For A Happy Homecoming: South Carolina – Arkansas Preview”

I will never get tired of seeing things like this.

Holy moly. The magical ride continues.

South Carolina walked away with a win tonight, putting them in the title series for the third straight year at the College World Series. And when I say they walked, I mean they might not have won had it not been for the two runs that were walked in.

That may have been due, at least in part, to the absolutely terrible umpiring at home plate, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

Arkansas wasted no time getting on the board. Tim Carver led off the game with a single, advanced to second on a sac bunt by Jacob Mahan, and came home on an RBI single from Matt Reynolds.

The Hogs added their second run in the top of the third. USC starter Colby Holmes hit the Jake Wise to start the inning, then Carver doubled, putting runners at second and third with no outs. Holmes was lifted for Tyler Webb, who got Mahan to ground out and Reynolds to fly out. Wise was able to score on the fly ball, though. Dominic Ficociello was intentionally walked and Carver stole third, but a strike out from Brian Anderson ended the scoring threat.

Arkansas had a chance to pad their lead in the fourth, but were unable to capitalize. Bo Bigham took a lead off walk and got to second on a sac bunt from Joe Serrano. He advanced to third on a single by Matt Vinson, but Webb K’d Wise and got a fly out from Carver to end the inning before any of the runners could make it home.

Even so, things were looking a bit grim for Carolina, and one of the common reactions on twitter was that this game looked a whole lot like Monday’s game against Arkansas – the only one that Carolina has lost in Omaha since that game against Oklahoma in 2010. Things began to go USC’s way in the bottom of the fifth inning, though.

» Continue reading “Gamecocks Squeak Past Razorbacks, Return To CWS Finals!”

Jordan Montgomery was nearly flawless in his CWS debut.

Thanks to stellar pitching, South Carolina lives to play another day in Omaha.

Behind a tremendous start from freshman Jordan Montgomery, USC blanked Arkansas 2-0 tonight in Omaha. The win forces another elimination game between the two teams tomorrow night.

The Cocks scored their runs in the top of the second inning. Erik Payne got things started with a double, and Tanner English followed suit, bringing Payne home. English got to third when Grayson Greiner grounded out, and Chase Vergason knocked an RBI single to bring English home.

The bats went quiet after that, but those two runs were enough. The Hogs were unable to get any runners home, and Carolina got their first-ever CWS shut out victory.

The Yardcocks did have a chance to pad their lead in the top of the sixth, but couldn’t capitalize. LB Dantzler reached first thanks to an error, then advanced to second on a passed ball. Adam Matthews laced a one-out single, but Dantzler advanced only one base. Their was a fielding miscue by Arkansas, but Dantzler didn’t go home. He ended up being tagged out at the plate on a fielder’s choice on the next play. Luckily, that didn’t come back to haunt South Carolina.

Defense played a big role in the Cocks’ victory tonight. More than once, they turned double plays that ended a Razorbacks scoring threat and kept the momentum going the way of the garnet and black. The most impressive one involved a diving catch by Christian Walker in the eighth, after Montgomery had walked the lead off batter.

» Continue reading “Montgomery’s Gem Leads Gamecocks Past Razorbacks”

Sorry for the lack of updates last week, guys. I was on vacation, but I’m back now and the updates will return to their regularly scheduled frequency!

All good things must come to an end, I guess. Unfortunately, this ending happened a lot sooner that anyone would’ve liked.

South Carolina lost to Arkansas 2-1 in an SEC showdown winner’s bracket game tonight in Omaha. The Yardcocks will take on Kent State Wednesday night at 8 ET, and the winner of that game will face Arkansas. Carolina will have to win three straight games in order to play for the title.

With the loss, a couple record streaks were snapped. The postseason winning streak ended at 22 and the Omaha win streak ended at 12. Those are still amazing numbers, though, and we should all be incredibly proud of what the teams have done over the past few years.

Very few things went right for the Gamecocks tonight, especially on offense. They were never really able to get much of anything going, and while Arkansas’ bats were fairly quiet, too, they were simply the better team and did enough to win.

USC starter Colby Holmes struggled early, allowing a run in the top of the first. Tim Carver singled to lead off and got to second on a sac bunt. Dominic Ficociello doubled later in the inning to bring Carver home.

The Hogs added their second run in the fourth inning. Brian Anderson walked, stole second base, and came across the plate thanks to a two-out RBI single from Matt Vinson.

South Carolina got on the board in the fifth, when Evan Marzilli  smacked a two-out triple that scored Chase Vergason.

The Cocks were outhit 6-4 and each team recorded an error.

» Continue reading “Streaks Come To An End As Cocks Fall To Hogs”

It was weird. It was wacky. It was a win.

The Yardcocks have always been…quirky, and today was no different. Today’s rubber game was scoreless until the top of the seventh, when USC got on the board with four runs on four hits.

Christian Walker led off with a single, then got to second on an Arkansas error. LB Dantzler went down on strikes, Grayson Greiner was intentionally walked, Michael Roth K’d, and then Adam Matthews came up to bat with two outs. He knocked a single that brought Walker home, then Chase Vergason got an RBI of his own, bringing Greiner across the plate and making it to second. Tanner English singled to bring home both Matthews and Vergason, and the momentum was clearly going in Carolina’s favor…until the bottom of the inning.

The Hogs, who had the bases loaded in the sixth but coukldn’t capitalize, thanks in large part to spectacular defense by Adam Matthews, responded in the seventh with three runs of their own. Matt Price, in to relieve starter Forrest Koumas, had a rare bad day on the mound, and Arkansas took full advantage.

The Razorbacks played small ball and would have taken a lead had it not been for Matthews again, who was simply a stud in the outfield today. Matthews gunned down two runners at the plate, including catcher Jake Wise, who was ejected after slamming his helmet down at home plate. » Continue reading “Hog Wild: Yardcocks Beat Arkansas In Crazy Rubber Game”

Christian Walker now has nine home runs this season.

All good things must come to an end. For South Carolina, that meant the end of their 12-game SEC winning streak, the second longest in school history.

In a game that went back and forth more than a tennis match, the Gamecocks and Razorbacks traded runs almost every inning, but Arkansas was able to add just enough insurance to get the victory and even the series.

The Cocks got on the board first, when Arky starter Randall Fant issued one too many walks and brought home Joey Pankake. Arkansas responded in the bottom of the inning by scoring two runs of their own, taking their first lead of the game. Christian Walker led off the fourth with a long ball, tying the game. The Razorbacks answered again, though, taking back the lead thanks to an RBI double off the bat of Matt Vinson.

Following Walker’s lead, Chase Vergason went yard (his first homer of the year) to begin the fifth inning, again tying up the game. Walker brought home Pankake later in the inning to put the Cocks on top 4-3. Unsurprisingly, the Hogs tied it up in the bottom of the inning, this time on an infield single from Matt Reynolds.

Arkansas added two more runs in the sixth inning, making the score 6-4. USC responded in the eighth, when TJ Costen walked, pinch hitter Michael Roth (who had been seen tanning/flexing with his sleeves rolled up in the dugout) singled. Connor Bright came in to pinch run, and after a wild pitch that advanced the runners, Brison Celek hit a grounder that brought Costen across the plate.

» Continue reading “No Lucky No. 13: Gamecocks Fall To Arkansas”

Ah, the Cardiac Cocks are back. With their fin-style rally caps on, the Gamecocks found a way to fight back from their biggest deficit of the season and keep their SEC winning streak, now at 12 games, alive.

The Yardcocks rallied from a 6-0 hole to score eight unanswered runs and take down the Razorbacks in extras tonight. It didn’t look good for South Carolina early on, as starting pitcher Michael Roth struggled and Arkansas took a 3-0 lead in the first. By the top of the fourth, it was 6-0 Hogs and things were looking kind of bleak for USC.

Enter the first rally of the evening, which cut the lead from 6-3. After Evan Marzilli laid down a successful bunt to reach first base and Christian Walker walked, LB Dantzler smacked a double that brought Marzilli across the plate. Grayson Greiner and pinch hitter Kyle Martin contributed back to back sac flies to bring in Walker and Dantzler.

The Gamecocks threatened to add more in the fifth, but the Hogs kept them at bay. In the sixth, though, Carolina evened the score. Dantzler singled (Reptar had to be proud of his dad tonight), and then Greiner cranked a homer to left. That brought the Cocks within one and was the first long ball Arky pitcher Ryne Stanek had allowed all season. It was also the sixth time Greiner has gone yard this year. USC then loaded the bases, but could only plate one runner, Tanner English, thanks to a Joey Pankake sac fly.

Roth settled down a bit, while Stanek started to have difficulty of his own. Even so, due to quality pitching on both sides and sharp defensive play, especially by the Gamecocks, neither team would score again in regulation. That brought about free baseball in Fayetteville, and in the top of the 10th, Pankake hit a one-out single, then moved up to second on an Arkansas throwing error. Marzilli then doubled to left-ctner, bringing Pankake home and giving USC the lead.

» Continue reading “Just Keep Swimming: “Fear The Fish” In Full Force As Yardcocks Rally”