Kershaws Corner: Alabama
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Gamecocks v. Crimson Tide - The Series
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* USC leads the overall series 29-25.
* The Gamecocks have won six of the last seven including five in a row.
* Alabama's last win in the series was in the 2011 weekend series opener in Tuscaloosa.
* Last time they met - Caro
lina swept the Crimson Tide in 2012 in Columbia.
* Two of the three games in 2012 were decided by one run.
* Four of the last six games in the series have been decided by one run. USC won three of those four.
Picking Up the Win
In the last four games, a Gamecock reliever has picked up the win. (Mincey, Seddon, Widener, and Britt)
Getting Some Hits
The Gamecocks have at least10 hits in each of their last four games. The previous four games, USC had seven or fewer hits.
Leaving Guys on Base in The Five Game Losing Streak
Carolina left 51 players on base in the five game losing streak.
16 Florida
12 Florida
8 Charleston Southern
11 The Citadel
4 Auburn
Walking Batters
USC walked seven batters on Wednesday night against USC Upstate. That is tied for the second most this season when they walked seven against Arkansas in Game Three of the series. The most walks allowed this season was eight at The Citadel on April 16. Carolina defeated USC Upstate but dropped the games at Arkansas and at The Citadel.
Shutouts
The Gamecocks have 12 shutouts this season. They had 8 in 2013, 9 in 2012, 4 in 2011, and 8 in 2010. The USC record for shutouts in a season is 14 by the 1974 squad.
Game They Recorded Their Last Shutout
2014 - 12th shutout came in the 41st game of the season.
2013 - 8th shutout came in the 62nd game of the season.
2012 - 9th shutout came in the 66th game of the season.
2011 - 4th shutout came in the 30th game of the season.
2010 - 8th shutout came in the 50th game of the season.
1974 - 14th shutout came in the 54th game of the season.
Comparing the 1974 and 2014 Seasons
The USC record for shutouts in a season is held by the 1974 squad who had 14 shutouts. The 2014 squad currently has 12 shutouts.
The 1974 squad finished the season 48-8 while this season's squad is 32-10.
Five of the 14 shutouts in 1974 came in seven inning games. All 12 shutouts for the Gamecocks this season have been in nine inning games.
The Comeback Cocks …. Does it start or end with Grayson?
9-6 Clemson
* USC trailed 6-1 going to the bottom of the 5th inning.
* With 1 out in the bottom of the 5th, Greiner hit a Grand Slam to cut the Clemson lead to 6-5.
* Bright RBI fielder's choice in the 6th to tie it up.
* Greiner RBI single in the 6th to give USC a 7-6 lead.
* English homered in the 7th.
* Martin scored on a wild pitch in the 8th.
5-3 at Clemson
* Carolina trailed 3-1 going to the top of the 9th inning
* With 2 outs Greiner singled up the middle
* Celek pinch hit for Arendas and singled to left field advancing Greiner to 2nd and Martin to 3rd.
* Madden pinch ran for Celek
* Mooney singled to centerfield and advanced to 2nd on the throw. Madden advanced to third. Greiner, and Martin scored. Tied the game at 3.
* English doubled scoring Mooney and Madden. Gave USC the lead 5-3.
5-4 Ole Miss (10)
* Trailed 4-1 in the bottom of the 9th.
* Mooney singled to right center with one out.
* English reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to second on a throwing error. Mooney was out at 2nd.
* Bright singled to right scoring English. Cut the Ole Miss lead to 4-2.
* Schrock pinch hit for Caldwell and hit a two run homer to tie the game at 4.
* In the 10th, Greiner singled.
* Gore pinched hit for Pike and had a sacrifice bunt advancing Greiner to 2nd.
* Celek pinched hit for Arendas. Celek singled to right field scoring Greiner.
3-2 Tennessee (14)
* Down 2-1 in the bottom of the 8th with 2 outs. English was on 3rd.
* English scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2.
* Tied 2-2 bottom of the 14th with 1 out. Gore homered to right field to win the game 3-2.
9-6 Tennessee
* Trailed 6-3 going to the bottom of the 9th inning.
* First two batters of the inning were retired by a fly out and strikeout.
* Celek pinch hit for English and singled to center. Cone pinch ran for Celek.
* Schrock homered to right to cut the Vol lead to 6-5.
* Pankake reached on a dropped fly by the right fielder and advanced to second.
* Martin walked.
* Bright was hit by a pitch.
* Greiner hit a grand slam to give the Gamecocks a 9-6 win.
2-1 Appalachian State
* Game tied 1-1 entering the bottom of the 9th.
* Bright singled up the middle to lead off the 9th.
* Gore pinch hit for Celek and sacrificed Bright over to 2nd.
* Greiner pinch hit for Koch and singled to left scoring Bright to win the game 2-1.
3-2 Auburn
* Trailed 2-1 entering the top of the 9th.
* Greiner singled to left field (1-2 SSB).
* Bright struck out swinging (0-2 FKS).
* Caldwell walked (3-2 BKBFFBB); Greiner advanced to second. Harrington pinch ran for Greiner.
* Cone doubled to right field, RBI (2-2 KBFB); Caldwell advanced to third; Harrington scored. Cochran-Gill to p for Wade, J.. Game tied at 2.
* English intentionally walked (3-0 BBBB).
* Gore singled to left field, RBI (0-0); English advanced to second; Cone advanced to third; Caldwell scored. Gamecocks take the lead 3-2.
* Pankake grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b (3-2 BKKBBF); Gore out on the play.
Close as It Can Get
Four of the last five SEC games for the Gamecocks have been decided by one run. 3-4, and 5-6 vs. Florida and 3-2, and 4-3 at Auburn.
Gamecock Individual Notes
Grayson Greiner
* Went 0 for 4 against Auburn in the series opener but then went 6 for 8 with one run and two RBIs in the final two games of the series.
* In SEC play, he is hitting .304 with three doubles, one home run and 15 RBIs.
* Hitting .319 overall on the season with four home runs and 39 runs batted in.
* Leads the team with 39 RBIs. Martin and Bright are tied for second on the team with 23.
* Tied for second on the team with four home runs.
* Leads the team with 11 multiple RBI games.
Kyle Martin
* In SEC play, he is hitting .320 with four doubles and four runs batted in
* Leads the team this season with a .354 batting average.
* Tied for second on the team with 23 RBIs.
* Tied for second on the team with four home runs.
* Started all 42 games this season.
* Has made one error in 387 chances.
* Leads the team with 18 multiple hit games.
* Enters the weekend series with an 11 game hitting streak.
Joey Pankake
* In SEC play, hitting .306 with three doubles, two home runs and 11 runs batted in.
* Hitting .315 with three home runs and 20 RBIs.
* Four of seven on stolen base attempts this season.
Tanner English
* Started all 42 games this season. All 42 starts have been in center field.
* Batting .282 with eight doubles, one triple, one homer, and 19 RBIs.
* Leads the team with 12 stolen bases.
Connor Bright
* Second on the team with a .340 batting average on the year.
* Leads the team with 10 doubles.
* Tied for second on the team with 23 RBIs.
Marcus Mooney
* Hitting .290 with eight doubles, one triple, and 16 RBIs.
* Leads the team with six sacrifice hits.
* Leads the team with nine fielding errors on the season.
* Started 37 of the 38 games that he has played in.
* Has an eight game hitting streak entering this weekend.
DC Arendas
*Hitting .254 with four homers and 16 RBIs.
*The four homers are tied for second on the team.
*Made 33 starts in the 38 games that he has played in.
Elliott Caldwell
*Hitting .263 with 14 runs batted in.
*Has four stolen bases in six attempts.
*Made 34 starts in 37 games played.
Max Schrock
*Hitting .239 with five home runs and 13 RBIs.
*The five homers leads the team.
Brison Celek
*Hitting .208 with one homer and six RBIs.
*Played in 28 games.
Gene Cone
* He was 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs in the second game of the series against Auburn. He entered that game with three hits in 28 at bats with two runs batted in.
* Hitting .227 with seven RBIs.
* Made 10 starts in 25 games played.
* Has three starts in left field and seven starts in right.
* In the last four games, he has seven hits in 16 at bats (.438). He has scored three runs and has five RBIs.
* Has 25 putouts in 25 chances. Fielding percentage is 1.000.
Jordan Gore
* He had the winning hit vs. Tennessee in Game 1 of that series and in Game 2 at Auburn. Gamecocks won both games 3-2.
* Hitting .154 with two homers and four RBIs.
* Made eight starts in 21 games played.
* All eight starts have been at second base.
Jordan Montgomery
* Has a 5-3 record in 10 starts with a 3.62 ERA.
* Has 59 strikeouts to 21 walks allowed.
* Allowed five of the pitching staff's 10 home runs this season.
* He is the only Gamecock to pitch a complete game this season.
* Leads the team with 59 strikeouts.
Jack Wynkoop
* 5-2 with a 2.07 ERA in 11 appearances with 10 starts.
* Leads the team with 61 innings pitched.
* 14 of the 21 runs allowed are earned.
* Opponents are hitting .250 against him this season.
Wil Crowe
* Pitched at least 5.1 innings in nine of his 10 starts this season.
* 6-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 10 starts.
* Second on the team with 60.2 innings pitched.
* Has 39 strikeouts to 12 walks.
* Has not allowed a home run or triple this season.
* Opponents are hitting .249 against him this season.
* Hit six batters which leads the team.
* Has 14 assists and three putouts in 17 chances.
Cody Mincey
* 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA in 21 appearances.
* The 21 appearances leads the team.
* Allowed two runs and 14 hits in 24 innings pitched.
* Opponents are hitting .173 against him this season.
Joel Seddon
* 2-1 with a 0.33 ERA and 10 saves in 17 appearances.
* Has 34 strikeouts to seven walks this season.
* Opponents are hitting .112 against him this season.
* Allowed two runs, one earned on 10 hits in 27.1 innings pitched.
Reed Scott
* 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in nine appearances.
* First start of his career came against Davidson on Tuesday night.
* Allowed three runs on 19 hits in 27 innings of work.
* Has 18 strikeouts to six walks.
* Opponents are hitting .204 against him this season.
Josh Reagan
* 3-0 with a 0.42 ERA in 11 appearances.
* He has one start on the season.
* Allowed three runs, one earned, in 21.2 innings of work.
* Opponents are hitting .244 against him this season.
Scouting Alabama
* 28-13 overall and 12-6 in SEC play.
* 7-7 on the road this season.
* Lost their last two games. At Tennessee (9-10) and Southern Miss (3-6)
* Beat Kentucky, Texas A&M, Auburn and Tennessee two of three, Swept Ole Miss, and lost two of three to Arkansas.
* Four of their six SEC losses are by one run.
* Hitting .271 in SEC play while they are allowing .248.
* Has 15 home runs in the 18 SEC games.
A Few Individual Notes on the Crimson Tide
Austen Smith
* Leads the team with a .361 batting average, six home runs and 31 runs batted in.
* Has been hit by a pitch nine times.
* Leads the team with eight multiple RBI games.
* Reached base in 11 straight games.
Wade Wass
* Hitting .311 with three home runs and 26 runs batted in.
* Has two stolen bases on the season.
* Made 40 starts in 41 games played.
* Third on the team with 15 multiple hit games.
* Enters the weekend on a nine game hitting streak.
Ben Moore
* Hitting .311 with five home runs and 27 runs batted in.
* Started all 41 games.
* Leads the team with eight stolen bases in 10 attempts.
* Leads the team with 17 multiple hit games.
* Enters the weekend on a six game hitting streak.
Spencer Turnbull
* Has a 5-2 record and 2.14 ERA in 10 starts.
* Second on the team with 59 innings pitched.
* Opponents are hitting .189 against him.
* Has a 4-1 record with a 3.13 ERA in six SEC starts.
Justin Kamplain
* 3-2 with a 3.54 ERA in 10 starts.
* Leads theteam with 53 strikeouts.
* Third on the team with 56 innings pitched.
* Opponents are hitting .209 against him.
Jon Keller
* 5-1 with a 1.94 ERA in 10 appearances with seven starts.
* Leads the team with 60.1 innings pitched.
* Has 44 strikeouts to 12 walks.
* Opponents are hitting .230 against him.
Thomas Burrows
* 4-1 with a 0.73 ERA in 18 appearances.
* Leads the team with 18 appearances.
* Has eight of the team's nine saves.
* Six of his eight saves are in SEC games.
* Opponents are hitting .105 against him.
* Allowed two runs in 24.2 innings of work.