GamecockCentral.com - USC-Ball State Diamond Extra: Montgomery out

March 5, 2013

Ron Aiken
GamecockCentral.com Staff Writer

Tuesday's biggest South Carolina baseball news had nothing to do with the 10-0 win over Ball State, but instead concerned sophomore starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery.

Following Tuesday's game, coach Chad Holbrook said that Montgomery, the team's ace and Friday starter, will be sidelined for at least the next two weeks with a lower distal stress reaction in the humerus of his throwing arm, just above the elbow. The injury was revealed after an MRI and X-ray earlier on Tuesday, and came after Montgomery had complained over the previous weeks of irritation in the area, Holbrook said.

He's been having some discomfort the past two to three weeks in his pitching arm, Holbrook said. "It's disappointing, but if it had to happen, this is as good a time as there is to happen. We'll re-evaluate Jordan in two weeks and see when we can get him back. He hopes to be back for Arkansas. I'm not optimistic it'll be that weekend. I think we're looking at maybe the third weekend of SEC play. But we'll see."

Holbrook said that oddly enough, the injury isn't one that affected his pitching, only his recovery.

"When he pitched against Clemson he felt great, and when he throws the ball he feels great," Holbrook said. "It's during his recovery period that it gives him some trouble."

As far as the starting rotation is concerned, Holbrook said the obvious change is that everyone moves up.

"Obviously, Colby (Holmes) and Nolan (Belcher) will be there; that won't change," Holbrook said. "We'll look at (Jack) Wynkoop, we'll look at (Adam) Westmoreland; he's thrown very well. We'll look at a number of guys. (Wednesday starter) Curt Britt is chomping at the bit. We'll pull a guy out of the bullpen. Right now, we know who two are, and we'll be fine. One of these guys will step up in his absence, and when he gets back, we'll be better.

"This was good news today, because the initial diagnosis was a possible stress fracture, so for a couple of hours today, we were looking at maybe six-to-eight weeks. So we got good news today."

DANTZLER STREAKING: With his single in the first inning, senior first baseman LB Dantzler has hit safely in eight consecutive games. On Tuesday, he went 1-for-2 with a walk, a run scored and was hit by a pitch to raise his season average to a team-high .474 among active players. His 15 RBIs lead the team by six.

TAKE A WALK: USC was the beneficiary of nine walks issued by Ball State. The Cardinals' staff was wild on Tuesday, throwing six wild pitches in addition to the walks and hitting two players, Dantzler and Shon Carson.

FIRST START A STRUGGLE: Carson got his first start as a Gamecock on the diamond, and unfortunately for him, it went just as badly as it did for fellow gridiron
teammate Ahmad Christian earlier in the year.

Christian made a start previously at designated hitter in a 3-2 loss to Liberty in the third game of the season, in which he went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts before giving way to Brison Celek in the sixth inning of the shortened seven-inning affair. Carson, a 44th-round pick of Cincinnati in 2011, struck out three times.

AROUND THE SEC
South Carolina 10, Ball State 0
Vanderbilt 8, Eastern Illinois 3
Western Carolina 12, Georgia 7
Florida 8, Jacksonville 5
Ole Miss 2, Southeast Louisiana 0
Mississippi State 14, Mississippi Valley State 2
LSU 9, Stephen F. Austin 2
Texas A&M 8, Prairie View A&M 2
Auburn 4, Alabama 3
Eastern Michigan at Missouri, ppd.
Belmont at Tennessee, ppd.
Cincinnati at Kentucky, ppd.

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