SEC Baseball Tourney - Day 3 (USC-Vandy Updates)
posted by Scott Hood on Friday, May 23, 2008
7:00 - Lail leads off in the T9. He's 0-for-2 today with 2 K's. Make that 3 K's. 1 out in the T9. Wingo up. He's ahead 3-1. Wingo walks. That's big. Havens up. He nearly had a HR the last time up. Here comes the VU coach. The pitcher stays in.
6:55 - Todd sets down VU 1-2-3 in the B8. WE GO TO THE NINTH WITH USC TRAILING 7-5. The Gamecocks need two runs to extend the game into the B9. Lail, Wingo, Havens due up.
6:45 - Here comes the Vandy coach. We have a new pitcher for VU. He's a lefty. Mack up. USC now trails 7-5 after scoring 4 times here in the T8. Mack 2-2. 1 out in T8. 3-2. Strikeout. 2 outs. Bangs up. Here comes the VU coach. Another pitching change for VU. Bangs up. He whiffs. We go to the B8 with USC trailing, 7-5.
6:40 - Disher steps in and faces Reid. This should be another battle. 2-1. Low. 3-1. Great hitter's count here. Fastball? Disher belts it deep to RCF! It's way out of here! 3-RUN BLAST!! 2nd HR of the day for Disher. He has 4 RBI. USC now trails 7-5. They're back in it.
6:35 - This will be a good battle here between Smoak and Reid. He hits one high to LF. Medium distance. But it's enough to score Havens. It's 7-2 VU. Darnell up. Smoak drove in his 66th run of the season. Merrifield went to 2B on the play. RBI opportunity for Darnell. He is 0-for-2 with a BB today. Darnell walks. Runners at 1&2 for Disher.
6:30 - Havens leads off the T8 for USC. He drives one deep to CF. It's off the wall. Havens coasts into 2B with a double. He is 3-for-4 today. Havens has had a great day individually both at the plate and in the field. Merrifield singles to CF. Great start to the T8. Runners on the corners for Smoak. Great situation for him. He should see some pitches here.
6:25 - Todd K's Robin looking with 2 runners on base. The No. 9 hitters is up. Another K. Todd works out of trouble. We go to the T8 with VU leading 7-1. USC needs some runs quickly.
6:20 - Todd gives up a single to de la Osa to start the B7. He goes to 2B. He walks Liddle. 2 on, 0 outs in the B7. Grounder into the hole. Havens gloves it and throws to 3B for the forceout. That's the third nice defensive play by Havens today. That's why he's got first-round potential. 1 out in the B7.
6:18 - Brandon Todd is the new pitcher for USC as we go to the B7. He's 3-1 with a 6.33 ERA in 21.1 IP this season. He's allowed 25 hits and 17 runs. with 30 K's and 13 BB.
6:15 - Wingo will face the new pitcher Chase Reid. Wingo is 0-for-2 with a popup and fly to right. Second pitch is bounced to 2B. 4-6-3 DP. That ends the threat. USC comes up empty. We go to the B7 with VU leading 7-1.
6:10 - With 1 out, Bangs lines on eover the CF's head. He ends at 3B for a triple! That's the 7th triple of the season for the Gamecocks. USC needs a lot more hits like that to rally here. Lail up. He walks. USC has runners at 1&3 for Wingo. Here comes the Vandy coach. That's it for Christiani. He certainly pitched a lot better today than he did against USC the first time out back in March.
6:00 - Alvarez up. He's 0-for-3 with 2 K's. USC pitchers have done a good job on him today. But he belts one deep to RF. That's gone for a 2-run HR. VU now leads 7-1. Unless USC gets the offense cranked up here in a hurry, they'll be gone from Hoover. F-8 for the 3rd out. We go to the T7 with VU leading 7-1.
5:55 - Another great play by Havens for the 2nd out in the B6. He ranged into the hole and fired a bullet to Smoak at 1B for the 2nd out. But there's a singelt o CF by Macias. He has 3 hits today. There'a bullet past 1B. Fair ball. It skips into the RF corner. Here comes the runner around first. He slides in safely. Feinberg ends up at 3B with a RBI triple. VU leads 5-1.
5:50 - Smoak and Darnell hit the ball hard to open the T6 but have nothing to show for it. Smoak L-4 and Darnell F-9 in the corner right in front of the 340 sign. Disher up. He K's. We go to the B6 with VU leading, 4-1.
5:45 - The first batter (Liddle) to face Atwood drives a pitch deep to RF, but Lail makes a nice catch right at thre wall. Wow, that was close. 2 outs in the B5. There's the third out. L-6. We go to the T6 with USC trailing 4-1. Smoak, Darnell, Disher due.
5:40 - Flaherty leads off the B5 with a single to RF. He steals second. Cooper fansde la Osa for the first out. Here comes Tanner. That's it for Cooper. Will Atwood is the new pitcher for USC. Cooper gave up 6 hits with 8 K's and 4 tuns in 4.1 IP.
5:35 - Merrifield down U-3. We go to the B5 with VU leading 4-1. Cooper is back out to pitch. He's given up 2 runs in each of the last 2 innings after a strong start. He has 6 K's through 4 Inn. He needs to keep VU off the scoreboard here.
5:30 - Lail K's to open the T5. He's K'd twice today. Wingo up. F-9. Havens up. Christiani has set down 12 of 14. The only 2 USC batters to reach since the T1 has been Disher (HR) and Mack (single). But Havens lines a single into LF. He has 2 hits today. He has Christiani dialed in.
5:25 - Cooper gets Alvarez to ground out to 1B. He's held Alvarez in check. But VU leads 4-1 as we head to the T5. Lail, Wingo, Havens due up.
5:22 - Will Atwood has started warmingup in the USC bullpen. Single to LF by Macias. 2 outs, runner on first. There's a K, but the ball gets away from Disher. His throw to 1B is high! Batter reaches. The runner goes all the way to third. 2 outs. Runners on the corners. VU is looking to expand its 4-1 lead.
5:20 - Single to open the B4 for Vandy. Giobbi up. He droves one deep to LF. It's gone. Two-run HR. Vandy leads 4-1.
5:15 - Macks follows the HR by Disher with a single to CF. The Vandy coach is out to talk with the pitcher. The HR by Disher was the second hit of the game for USC. Mack is 2-for-5 in the last 2 games. Bangs up. He grounded to SS the first time up. F-9 for the final out. We go to the B4 with USC trailing 2-1.
5:10 - Smoak leads off the T4 for USC. He K's. Darnell up. He hits one deep to LF. But it's caught on the warning track. Good contact, but it goes down as a noisy out. 2 outs in the T4. Disher up. He drills one deep to LF! HOME RUN! USC now trails 2-1. 18th HR of the season for Disher.
5:05 - 1-3 for the third out. Cooper was 1 strike away from getting out of the inning, but Flaherty burned USC again with the 2-run infield single. Macias never stopped coming around third and scored the secnd run. VU leads 2-0 as we go to the T4. The two HBP hurt Cooper in that inning.
5:00 - 2 outs for VU in the B3. Bases still loaded. After fanning Alvarez, Cooper has to deal with Flaherty. 2-2 count. If Cooper can get out of this jam, it could change the complexion of the game. 3-2 count. Runners will be moving. Huge pitch right here. Foul. Sill 3-2. Barely got a piece. Shot throughthe middle,. Havens gloves it. But 2 runs score. Vandy leads 2-0.
4:55 - Another HBP by Cooper. Second of the inning. VU has the bases loaded for Pedro Alvarez, one of the most dangerous hitters in the country. Cooper has his work cut out for him right here. 1-2 count. 2-2. Strike 3!!! Wow, that was huge.
4:50 - Great play by Havens for the first out in the B3!! He went into the hole and threw across his body to 1B. Nice stretch by Smoak as well. 1 out in the B3. But Cooper hit the next batter, Vandy's No. 9 hitter. VU has runner at first, 1 out. There's a wild pitch. Runner to 2B. THis is the first time VU has had a runner ins scoring position. There's a single to CF. Runner on the corners, 1 out. Here comes Tanner for a chat.
4:45 - Merrifield 6-3. USC down 1-2-3 in the T3. Vandy starter Nick Christiani has set down 7 in a row. He looks much sharper than his first start against USC this season. We go to the B3 with the score tied at 0-0.
4:42 - Wingo, Havens, Merrifield due in the T3. P-4 for Wingo. USC hit one ball out of the infield during the first trip through the order. Havens up. He singled his first time up. That's been the only hit in the game thus far. Havens flies to DEEP CF. he hit it 400 feet. Unfortunately, the fence id 4-5 feet from home. The Vandy OF caught the ball on the warning track. 2 outs in the T3.
4:40 - Cooper issues a 2-out walk in the B2. He had retired the first 5 batters, 3 by K. Strikeout. Cooper fans the side. He has four K's in the first two innings. We go to the T3 with the score 0-0.
4:35 - Cooper K's Flaherty for the 1st out in the B2. That was big. Flaherty was the guy that hit the HR in the B9 to tie the score in the first game of the year between these teams. Cooper looks sharp esarly. There's another K. de la Osa goes down swinging. That's three straight K's for Cooper.
4:30 - Mack 4-3 on the first pitch of the T2. Bangs up. He was 2-for-4 with a RBI yesterday. Bouncer to SS. 6-3 for the 2nd out. Lail up. He K's on four pitches. We go to the B2 with the score tied 0-0.
4:25 - We're in the B1 with the score 0-0. Vandy has 2 outs amd no one on. USC had a chance to score in the T1 but Disher grounded to first to end the threat. VU down 1-2-3 in the B1. Nice job by Cooper. He looks good early. We go to the T2 with the score tied at 0-0.
4:10 - Good start for USC. Havens singles to left. Merrifield sacrifices. Havens in second. Smoak up. He lines a shot right at the Vandy LF. Bad luck there. 2 outs. Darnell up.
4:08 - The national anthem has been played. The lineups have been intruduced. I've taken my last bathroom break. It's time to play ball. Loser goes home. Winner moves on to play Ole Miss on Saturday. Havens steps in. We're ready to go.
3:55 - We're about 10 minutes from the first pitch. In case you were wondering, Andrew Crisp is dressed today but won't start for the second straight game. I was told by the baseball SID that he still has back problems. He did not participate in fielding practice. Here are the numbers for Vanderbilt's Nick Christiani from his start against USC earlier this season: 2.1 IP, 9 hits, 9 runs, 5 ER, 0 K, 0 BB. So, USC had pretty good success against him.
3:30 - The players are warming up on the field for today's game, which is scheduled to get underway at 4 p.m. ET. Here is today's starting lineup for USC with current stats:
Havens - 6 (.358-16 HR-53 RBI)
Merrifield - 8 (.323-3-22)
Smoak - 3 (.382-21-65)
Darnell - 5 (.313-18-78)
Disher - 2 (.306-17-53)
Mack - 7 (.276-5-17)
Bangs - DH (.273-2-5)
Lail - 9 (.238-5-30)
Wingo - 4 (.223-6-16)
Cooper - P (5-5, 4.00 ERA. 81.0 IP, 88 hits, 43 runs, 42 K, 22 BB, .281 IP)
The lineup for today's game is identical to yesterday's game, so Tanner is obviously sticking with what works. Vanderbilt has taken the field for infield practice. USC will be the road team and are wearing their garnet jerseys with the white sleeves. It's the same uniforms they wore Wed. v. LSU. USC is 11-1 with those uniforms.
2:55: Looking at some of the team stats through the first two days, USC is fourth in team batting with a .254 BA. They have 16 hits in 63 at-bats, including three doubles and two HR. One of those, of course, was the bomb hit by Justin Smoak in the eighth inning of yesterday's game. They also have a SEC-Tourney high 15 walks. In fact, the second-place team has only 9 walks, so USC has a substantial advantage in that category. Whit Merrifield is the only USC player that appears in the Top 20 with a .429 BA (3-for-7). He has 1 double and one RBI. Justi Smoak is tied atop the RBI list with 4. Three came on the HR Thursday v. UF.
Pitching-wise, USC is fifth with a team ERA of 3.93. In 18.1 IP, USC hurlers have allowed 15 hits and eight runs while fanning 18 and walking seven. Sam Dyson leads all pitchers with a 0.00 ERA in 6.2 IP. He allowed two hits to LSU. Really, they've only had one bad inning and that was the B9 against LSU on Wednesday when two walks to start the inning resulted in catastrophe. USC is second in team fielding with a .987 fielding pct. They've committed 1 error in 2 games.
2:25 - We're live from Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. for Day 3 of the 2008 SEC Baseball Tournament. The South Carolina-Vanderbilt game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET. Blake Cooper (5-5, 4.00 ERA) will make his 14th start of the season for the Gamecocks. Nick Christiani, who was hit hard by USC in the three-game series in March, will start for the Commodores. USC opened the SEC Tourney with a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to LSU, but followed up with an impressive 11-3 win over Florida Thursday in an elimination game. The winner of today's game will have to beat Ole Miss twice on Saturday to advance to the SEC Tournament Championshp game on Sunday. Under the "flipped bracket" format introduced this year, Ole Miss jumped over the Bracket One after last night's thrilling 8-7 victory over Kentucky. The Rebels got a two-run walk-off home run to beat the Wildcats. Kentucky will play Alabama tonight at 7:30 p.m. with the loser headed home. Right now, here's how the brackets look:
Bracket One: USC, Vandy, Ole Miss
Bracket Two: Kentucky, Alabama, LSU5.
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7:05 - We have some drama here in the T9. Havens has 3 hits today. He hits one deep to RF. But it's caught at the warning track. 2 outs. Merrifield up. He has to get on to get to Smoak. Merrifield has 3 HR this season. L-8 for the final out. Vandy wins 7-5. USC is eliminated.
7:00 - Lail leads off in the T9. He's 0-for-2 today with 2 K's. Make that 3 K's. 1 out in the T9. Wingo up. He's ahead 3-1. Wingo walks. That's big. Havens up. He nearly had a HR the last time up. Here comes the VU coach. The pitcher stays in.
6:55 - Todd sets down VU 1-2-3 in the B8. WE GO TO THE NINTH WITH USC TRAILING 7-5. The Gamecocks need two runs to extend the game into the B9. Lail, Wingo, Havens due up.
6:45 - Here comes the Vandy coach. We have a new pitcher for VU. He's a lefty. Mack up. USC now trails 7-5 after scoring 4 times here in the T8. Mack 2-2. 1 out in T8. 3-2. Strikeout. 2 outs. Bangs up. Here comes the VU coach. Another pitching change for VU. Bangs up. He whiffs. We go to the B8 with USC trailing, 7-5.
6:40 - Disher steps in and faces Reid. This should be another battle. 2-1. Low. 3-1. Great hitter's count here. Fastball? Disher belts it deep to RCF! It's way out of here! 3-RUN BLAST!! 2nd HR of the day for Disher. He has 4 RBI. USC now trails 7-5. They're back in it.
6:35 - This will be a good battle here between Smoak and Reid. He hits one high to LF. Medium distance. But it's enough to score Havens. It's 7-2 VU. Darnell up. Smoak drove in his 66th run of the season. Merrifield went to 2B on the play. RBI opportunity for Darnell. He is 0-for-2 with a BB today. Darnell walks. Runners at 1&2 for Disher.
6:30 - Havens leads off the T8 for USC. He drives one deep to CF. It's off the wall. Havens coasts into 2B with a double. He is 3-for-4 today. Havens has had a great day individually both at the plate and in the field. Merrifield singles to CF. Great start to the T8. Runners on the corners for Smoak. Great situation for him. He should see some pitches here.
6:25 - Todd K's Robin looking with 2 runners on base. The No. 9 hitters is up. Another K. Todd works out of trouble. We go to the T8 with VU leading 7-1. USC needs some runs quickly.
6:20 - Todd gives up a single to de la Osa to start the B7. He goes to 2B. He walks Liddle. 2 on, 0 outs in the B7. Grounder into the hole. Havens gloves it and throws to 3B for the forceout. That's the third nice defensive play by Havens today. That's why he's got first-round potential. 1 out in the B7.
6:18 - Brandon Todd is the new pitcher for USC as we go to the B7. He's 3-1 with a 6.33 ERA in 21.1 IP this season. He's allowed 25 hits and 17 runs. with 30 K's and 13 BB.
6:15 - Wingo will face the new pitcher Chase Reid. Wingo is 0-for-2 with a popup and fly to right. Second pitch is bounced to 2B. 4-6-3 DP. That ends the threat. USC comes up empty. We go to the B7 with VU leading 7-1.
6:10 - With 1 out, Bangs lines on eover the CF's head. He ends at 3B for a triple! That's the 7th triple of the season for the Gamecocks. USC needs a lot more hits like that to rally here. Lail up. He walks. USC has runners at 1&3 for Wingo. Here comes the Vandy coach. That's it for Christiani. He certainly pitched a lot better today than he did against USC the first time out back in March.
6:00 - Alvarez up. He's 0-for-3 with 2 K's. USC pitchers have done a good job on him today. But he belts one deep to RF. That's gone for a 2-run HR. VU now leads 7-1. Unless USC gets the offense cranked up here in a hurry, they'll be gone from Hoover. F-8 for the 3rd out. We go to the T7 with VU leading 7-1.
5:55 - Another great play by Havens for the 2nd out in the B6. He ranged into the hole and fired a bullet to Smoak at 1B for the 2nd out. But there's a singelt o CF by Macias. He has 3 hits today. There'a bullet past 1B. Fair ball. It skips into the RF corner. Here comes the runner around first. He slides in safely. Feinberg ends up at 3B with a RBI triple. VU leads 5-1.
5:50 - Smoak and Darnell hit the ball hard to open the T6 but have nothing to show for it. Smoak L-4 and Darnell F-9 in the corner right in front of the 340 sign. Disher up. He K's. We go to the B6 with VU leading, 4-1.
5:45 - The first batter (Liddle) to face Atwood drives a pitch deep to RF, but Lail makes a nice catch right at thre wall. Wow, that was close. 2 outs in the B5. There's the third out. L-6. We go to the T6 with USC trailing 4-1. Smoak, Darnell, Disher due.
5:40 - Flaherty leads off the B5 with a single to RF. He steals second. Cooper fansde la Osa for the first out. Here comes Tanner. That's it for Cooper. Will Atwood is the new pitcher for USC. Cooper gave up 6 hits with 8 K's and 4 tuns in 4.1 IP.
5:35 - Merrifield down U-3. We go to the B5 with VU leading 4-1. Cooper is back out to pitch. He's given up 2 runs in each of the last 2 innings after a strong start. He has 6 K's through 4 Inn. He needs to keep VU off the scoreboard here.
5:30 - Lail K's to open the T5. He's K'd twice today. Wingo up. F-9. Havens up. Christiani has set down 12 of 14. The only 2 USC batters to reach since the T1 has been Disher (HR) and Mack (single). But Havens lines a single into LF. He has 2 hits today. He has Christiani dialed in.
5:25 - Cooper gets Alvarez to ground out to 1B. He's held Alvarez in check. But VU leads 4-1 as we head to the T5. Lail, Wingo, Havens due up.
5:22 - Will Atwood has started warmingup in the USC bullpen. Single to LF by Macias. 2 outs, runner on first. There's a K, but the ball gets away from Disher. His throw to 1B is high! Batter reaches. The runner goes all the way to third. 2 outs. Runners on the corners. VU is looking to expand its 4-1 lead.
5:20 - Single to open the B4 for Vandy. Giobbi up. He droves one deep to LF. It's gone. Two-run HR. Vandy leads 4-1.
5:15 - Macks follows the HR by Disher with a single to CF. The Vandy coach is out to talk with the pitcher. The HR by Disher was the second hit of the game for USC. Mack is 2-for-5 in the last 2 games. Bangs up. He grounded to SS the first time up. F-9 for the final out. We go to the B4 with USC trailing 2-1.
5:10 - Smoak leads off the T4 for USC. He K's. Darnell up. He hits one deep to LF. But it's caught on the warning track. Good contact, but it goes down as a noisy out. 2 outs in the T4. Disher up. He drills one deep to LF! HOME RUN! USC now trails 2-1. 18th HR of the season for Disher.
5:05 - 1-3 for the third out. Cooper was 1 strike away from getting out of the inning, but Flaherty burned USC again with the 2-run infield single. Macias never stopped coming around third and scored the secnd run. VU leads 2-0 as we go to the T4. The two HBP hurt Cooper in that inning.
5:00 - 2 outs for VU in the B3. Bases still loaded. After fanning Alvarez, Cooper has to deal with Flaherty. 2-2 count. If Cooper can get out of this jam, it could change the complexion of the game. 3-2 count. Runners will be moving. Huge pitch right here. Foul. Sill 3-2. Barely got a piece. Shot throughthe middle,. Havens gloves it. But 2 runs score. Vandy leads 2-0.
4:55 - Another HBP by Cooper. Second of the inning. VU has the bases loaded for Pedro Alvarez, one of the most dangerous hitters in the country. Cooper has his work cut out for him right here. 1-2 count. 2-2. Strike 3!!! Wow, that was huge.
4:50 - Great play by Havens for the first out in the B3!! He went into the hole and threw across his body to 1B. Nice stretch by Smoak as well. 1 out in the B3. But Cooper hit the next batter, Vandy's No. 9 hitter. VU has runner at first, 1 out. There's a wild pitch. Runner to 2B. THis is the first time VU has had a runner ins scoring position. There's a single to CF. Runner on the corners, 1 out. Here comes Tanner for a chat.
4:45 - Merrifield 6-3. USC down 1-2-3 in the T3. Vandy starter Nick Christiani has set down 7 in a row. He looks much sharper than his first start against USC this season. We go to the B3 with the score tied at 0-0.
4:42 - Wingo, Havens, Merrifield due in the T3. P-4 for Wingo. USC hit one ball out of the infield during the first trip through the order. Havens up. He singled his first time up. That's been the only hit in the game thus far. Havens flies to DEEP CF. he hit it 400 feet. Unfortunately, the fence id 4-5 feet from home. The Vandy OF caught the ball on the warning track. 2 outs in the T3.
4:40 - Cooper issues a 2-out walk in the B2. He had retired the first 5 batters, 3 by K. Strikeout. Cooper fans the side. He has four K's in the first two innings. We go to the T3 with the score 0-0.
4:35 - Cooper K's Flaherty for the 1st out in the B2. That was big. Flaherty was the guy that hit the HR in the B9 to tie the score in the first game of the year between these teams. Cooper looks sharp esarly. There's another K. de la Osa goes down swinging. That's three straight K's for Cooper.
4:30 - Mack 4-3 on the first pitch of the T2. Bangs up. He was 2-for-4 with a RBI yesterday. Bouncer to SS. 6-3 for the 2nd out. Lail up. He K's on four pitches. We go to the B2 with the score tied 0-0.
4:25 - We're in the B1 with the score 0-0. Vandy has 2 outs amd no one on. USC had a chance to score in the T1 but Disher grounded to first to end the threat. VU down 1-2-3 in the B1. Nice job by Cooper. He looks good early. We go to the T2 with the score tied at 0-0.
4:10 - Good start for USC. Havens singles to left. Merrifield sacrifices. Havens in second. Smoak up. He lines a shot right at the Vandy LF. Bad luck there. 2 outs. Darnell up.
4:08 - The national anthem has been played. The lineups have been intruduced. I've taken my last bathroom break. It's time to play ball. Loser goes home. Winner moves on to play Ole Miss on Saturday. Havens steps in. We're ready to go.
3:55 - We're about 10 minutes from the first pitch. In case you were wondering, Andrew Crisp is dressed today but won't start for the second straight game. I was told by the baseball SID that he still has back problems. He did not participate in fielding practice. Here are the numbers for Vanderbilt's Nick Christiani from his start against USC earlier this season: 2.1 IP, 9 hits, 9 runs, 5 ER, 0 K, 0 BB. So, USC had pretty good success against him.
3:30 - The players are warming up on the field for today's game, which is scheduled to get underway at 4 p.m. ET. Here is today's starting lineup for USC with current stats:
Havens - 6 (.358-16 HR-53 RBI)
Merrifield - 8 (.323-3-22)
Smoak - 3 (.382-21-65)
Darnell - 5 (.313-18-78)
Disher - 2 (.306-17-53)
Mack - 7 (.276-5-17)
Bangs - DH (.273-2-5)
Lail - 9 (.238-5-30)
Wingo - 4 (.223-6-16)
Cooper - P (5-5, 4.00 ERA. 81.0 IP, 88 hits, 43 runs, 42 K, 22 BB, .281 IP)
The lineup for today's game is identical to yesterday's game, so Tanner is obviously sticking with what works. Vanderbilt has taken the field for infield practice. USC will be the road team and are wearing their garnet jerseys with the white sleeves. It's the same uniforms they wore Wed. v. LSU. USC is 11-1 with those uniforms.
2:55: Looking at some of the team stats through the first two days, USC is fourth in team batting with a .254 BA. They have 16 hits in 63 at-bats, including three doubles and two HR. One of those, of course, was the bomb hit by Justin Smoak in the eighth inning of yesterday's game. They also have a SEC-Tourney high 15 walks. In fact, the second-place team has only 9 walks, so USC has a substantial advantage in that category. Whit Merrifield is the only USC player that appears in the Top 20 with a .429 BA (3-for-7). He has 1 double and one RBI. Justi Smoak is tied atop the RBI list with 4. Three came on the HR Thursday v. UF.
Pitching-wise, USC is fifth with a team ERA of 3.93. In 18.1 IP, USC hurlers have allowed 15 hits and eight runs while fanning 18 and walking seven. Sam Dyson leads all pitchers with a 0.00 ERA in 6.2 IP. He allowed two hits to LSU. Really, they've only had one bad inning and that was the B9 against LSU on Wednesday when two walks to start the inning resulted in catastrophe. USC is second in team fielding with a .987 fielding pct. They've committed 1 error in 2 games.
2:25 - We're live from Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. for Day 3 of the 2008 SEC Baseball Tournament. The South Carolina-Vanderbilt game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET. Blake Cooper (5-5, 4.00 ERA) will make his 14th start of the season for the Gamecocks. Nick Christiani, who was hit hard by USC in the three-game series in March, will start for the Commodores. USC opened the SEC Tourney with a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to LSU, but followed up with an impressive 11-3 win over Florida Thursday in an elimination game. The winner of today's game will have to beat Ole Miss twice on Saturday to advance to the SEC Tournament Championshp game on Sunday. Under the "flipped bracket" format introduced this year, Ole Miss jumped over the Bracket One after last night's thrilling 8-7 victory over Kentucky. The Rebels got a two-run walk-off home run to beat the Wildcats. Kentucky will play Alabama tonight at 7:30 p.m. with the loser headed home. Right now, here's how the brackets look:
Bracket One: USC, Vandy, Ole Miss
Bracket Two: Kentucky, Alabama, LSU5.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.