In an in-state ballgame that features two teams with over 20 wins
on the season so far, the #11 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks
welcome the College of Charleston Cougars for a Wednesday night
baseball game at 7pm ET on FCS Atlantic.
College of Charleston (23-7, 8-4 in Southern Conference) is
coming off a three-game sweep over Georgia Southern over the past
weekend. The Cougars defeated Georgia Southern 5-4 on Friday April
2, then 8-7 on Saturday April 3 and 11-8 on Sunday April 4.
Charleston is led by power-hitting sophomore 3B Matt Leeds who
leads the team with 12 doubles, 12 homeruns, 41 runs batted in and
owns a .772 slugging percentage. Speedy CF Cole Rakar leads the
Cougars in batting average (.419) and steals (16 SB’s in 18
attempts), and is currently on an 11-game hitting streak.
Pitching has been College of Charleston’s Achilles heel
with only one pitcher having an ERA below 3 (Kevin Decker owns a
2.81 ERA in 32 innings pitched) and six different pitchers have an
ERA above 6. The Cougars strength is their home run hitting in
which they are 10-1 in games in which 2 or more homeruns are hit by
them. The Cougars are currently on a four game winning streak and
are 6-2 on the road this season.
South Carolina (22-6, 7-2 SEC) has reached the halfway point
of the 2010 season tied with LSU for the lead in league play and
one game ahead of Florida in the SEC Eastern Division. The
Gamecocks went 3-1 this past week with a win over nationally ranked
The Citadel, 10-1, last Tuesday, and two of three wins over the
weekend vs. Mississippi State. South Carolina is 16-2 at home this
season and 11-0 when they score in the 1st inning. While College of
Charleston relies on strong hitting, the Gamecocks strength is in
their pitching.
The South Carolina pitching staff has a 3.48 ERA, second best
in the SEC and leads the conference in lowest opponent’s
batting average (2.18) and strikeouts (288) in 253.2 innings
pitched. Senior right-hander Blake Cooper continues to lead the
way, going 5-0 with a 3.11 ERA in 46.1 innings pitched with 44
strikeouts. Freshman relievers Matt Price and Ethan Carter have
been dominant in the bullpen in which Carter owns a 0.75 ERA,
holding opponents to a .103 BA in 12 innings pitched while Price
owns a 1.40 ERA, is 3-0 with a pair of saves, has 31 strikeouts and
holds opponents to a .149 BA in only 19.1 innings pitched.
South Carolina leads the series 41-5 against College of
Charleston in a matchup that dates back to 1899 when the baseball
series began.
Don’t forget to catch the battle for “best college
baseball team in the state of South Carolina” bragging rights
on Wednesday at 7pm ET on FCS Atlantic.
