Virginia's present for beating Cal in its first CWS game? The defending champion South Carolina Gamecocks.
Here's a look at South Carolina:
Record: 51-14 overall, 22-8 SEC (Virginia was 22-8 in the ACC)
Last season: South Carolina won the College World Series after losing its first game in Omaha.
History: South Carolina beat Virginia in the 2006 Charlottesville Regional 8-2.
Notable games: South Carolina played Clemson three times early in the season and beat them at home twice and lost at Clemson. Virginia swept Clemson on the road in three games. The Gamecocks took two of three contests vs. Florida in Gainesville during the regular season. Florida is 1-0 in the other bracket of the CWS. In April, South Carolina took two of three from Vanderbilt at home. Vanderbilt is 1-0 as well in the CWS' other bracket. Florida and Vandy were supposed to play each other at 7 p.m. Monday but weather suspended their game until Tuesday at 11 a.m. Also in April, the Gamecocks swept Auburn. Virginia defeated Auburn in its second game of the season. In the SEC tournament, South Carolina beat Auburn again but then lost back-to-back games to Vanderbilt and Georgia.
How they got here: South Carolina hosted the Columbia Regional and went 3-0, defeating Georgia Southern 2-1, Stetson 11-5, and Stetson again 8-2. In the super regionals, the Gamecocks hosted UConn and won two games in a row, 5-1 and 8-2. Sunday night, South Carolina beat Texas A&M 5-4 in its first College World Series game.
Coach: Ray Tanner is an established coach in his 14th year with the Gamecocks. Tanner started at the school in 1997. After going 33-24 that year, 1998 saw the Gamecocks go 44-18 and go to a regional. In 2002, South Carolina went 57-18 and was the national runner up in the CWS. The team made the CWS again the next two seasons but failed to make the championship round. Last year, South Carolina won the national championship. Tanner's overall record in Columbia is 634-282 (.692).
Top hitters: Christian Walker leads the team in average (.357), HRs (10) and RBIs (60). Scott Wingo (.350) and Brady Thomas (.305) also hit over .300. The Gamecocks have hit 45 home runs as a team.
On the basepaths: South Carolina has 57 steals on the season, a few more than Cal, but not near as many as UVa. Wingo and Adrian Morales lead the team with seven steals each.
Defense: South Carolina has 66 errors for a .973 fielding percentage.
Pitcher: Colby Holmes, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound sophomore righty will get the start for the Gamecocks. Holmes is 7-3 with a 3.78 ERA.
Virginia is going with Will Roberts on the bump. Roberts is 11-1 on the year with a 1.57 ERA.
Here's a look at South Carolina:
Record: 51-14 overall, 22-8 SEC (Virginia was 22-8 in the ACC)
Last season: South Carolina won the College World Series after losing its first game in Omaha.
History: South Carolina beat Virginia in the 2006 Charlottesville Regional 8-2.
Notable games: South Carolina played Clemson three times early in the season and beat them at home twice and lost at Clemson. Virginia swept Clemson on the road in three games. The Gamecocks took two of three contests vs. Florida in Gainesville during the regular season. Florida is 1-0 in the other bracket of the CWS. In April, South Carolina took two of three from Vanderbilt at home. Vanderbilt is 1-0 as well in the CWS' other bracket. Florida and Vandy were supposed to play each other at 7 p.m. Monday but weather suspended their game until Tuesday at 11 a.m. Also in April, the Gamecocks swept Auburn. Virginia defeated Auburn in its second game of the season. In the SEC tournament, South Carolina beat Auburn again but then lost back-to-back games to Vanderbilt and Georgia.
How they got here: South Carolina hosted the Columbia Regional and went 3-0, defeating Georgia Southern 2-1, Stetson 11-5, and Stetson again 8-2. In the super regionals, the Gamecocks hosted UConn and won two games in a row, 5-1 and 8-2. Sunday night, South Carolina beat Texas A&M 5-4 in its first College World Series game.
Coach: Ray Tanner is an established coach in his 14th year with the Gamecocks. Tanner started at the school in 1997. After going 33-24 that year, 1998 saw the Gamecocks go 44-18 and go to a regional. In 2002, South Carolina went 57-18 and was the national runner up in the CWS. The team made the CWS again the next two seasons but failed to make the championship round. Last year, South Carolina won the national championship. Tanner's overall record in Columbia is 634-282 (.692).
Top hitters: Christian Walker leads the team in average (.357), HRs (10) and RBIs (60). Scott Wingo (.350) and Brady Thomas (.305) also hit over .300. The Gamecocks have hit 45 home runs as a team.
On the basepaths: South Carolina has 57 steals on the season, a few more than Cal, but not near as many as UVa. Wingo and Adrian Morales lead the team with seven steals each.
Defense: South Carolina has 66 errors for a .973 fielding percentage.
Pitcher: Colby Holmes, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound sophomore righty will get the start for the Gamecocks. Holmes is 7-3 with a 3.78 ERA.
Virginia is going with Will Roberts on the bump. Roberts is 11-1 on the year with a 1.57 ERA.
Comments
Post a Comment