Game 1 - Gamecocks v 49ers

South Carolina and Charlotte have met 30 times in series history with the Gamecocks leading the all-time series 22-8 including two wins in last year's NCAA Regional. Charlotte and Carolina also met this year in the regular season with the 49ers defeating South Carolina 11-2 on March 5 at Sarge Frye Field. Let's hope it we can follow the course of history and get a win today....

Here is the match-up:

SOUTH CAROLINA
Record: 38-21, 15-15 SEC
Head coach: Ray Tanner
Arrival: At-large bid. Finished 10-10 last 20 and went 1-2 in SEC tournament
Team hitting: .299 BA, 103 HR, 416 R, 31 SB, 208 Ex-base hits
Team pitching: 4.38 ERA, 258 ER, 202 BB, 469 SO, 11 SV
Best bats: Jr. 1B Justin Smoak (.377, 21 HR, 66 RBIs); Jr. SS Reese Havens (.363, 16 HR, 53 RBIs); Jr. 3B James Darnell (.310, 18 HR, 78 RBIs); Sr. C/DH Phil Disher (.309, 19 HR, 57 RBIs)
Best arms: Fr. RH Sam Dyson (7-0, 3.27 ERA, 44 IP, 43 SO, 26 BB); Sr. RH Nick Godwin (7-3, 3.02 ERA, 86.1 IP, 77 SO, 22 BB); So. RH Blake Cooper (5-6, 4.22 ERA, 85.1 IP, 50 SO, 23 BB)
Notes: Carolina leads the SEC in home runs on the year with 103 in 59 games. The team is batting .299 (617-for-2063) with 416 runs scored. The pitching staff owns a team ERA of 4.38 in 530.1 innings with 469 strikeouts to 202 walks. Carolina is fielding .978 as a team, also leading the SEC.


CHARLOTTE
Record: 43-14, 19-8 Atlantic 10
Head coach: Loren Hibbs
Arrival: Automatic bid for winning A-10 tournament....Finished 14-6 last 20, comes in on five-game win streak
Team hitting: .331 BA, 53 HR, 484 R, 92 SB, 201 Ex-base hits
Team pitching: 4.33 ERA, 248 ER, 186 BB, 360 SO, 10 SV
Best bats: Fr. 2B Corey Shaylor (.372, 2 HR, 40 RBIs); So. IF/DH Rob Lyerly (.367, 14 HR, 73 RBIs); Sr. C/OF Chris Taylor (.343, 19 HR, 69 RBIs); Sr. OF O’Brien Taylor (.360, 25 RBIs, 11 SB).
Best arms: Fr. RH Joe Yermal (8-1, 3.81 ERA, 82.2 IP, 44 SO, 20 BB); Jr. RH Zach Rosenbaum (5-2, 4.34 ERA, 64.1 IP, 41 SO, 40 BB); Fr. RH Kelly McLain (7-0, 1.98 ERA, 50 IP, 50 SO, 9 BB)
Notes: One year after relying on one of the nation’s top pitching staffs, the 49ers are now a top hitting squad, ranking 12th nationally in average and 16th in runs.


Thoughts or predictions? I say we win this game 7-4. It is really a game that hinges on the shoulders of Bryson, if he shows up and pitches well then we will be okay b/c UNC-C can string some hits together much like Florida. If USC has bad pitching then it could make for a bad day but I am hoping for the best and I see USC pulling this one off.