Gamecock Baseball: While I Breathe, I Hope

As the State of South Carolina motto says - "Dum Spiro Spero" - which means - While I breathe, I hope. That is the way I feel about the Gamecock Baseball team this weekend. It is simple for today - - Win and you are in.

The Gamecocks kept their hope alive with a win yesterday against Tenn with a 7-5 victory against Tennessee, the chances of South Carolina making the SEC tournament lingered for one more day. USC (36-19, 14-15 SEC) will clinch a trip to Hoover, Ala., if it beats Tennessee today in what could be the last game at Sarge. Failing that, it will need either Mississippi or Arkansas to lose.

Again, it is simple - just win today. Come on Gamecocks win for Sarge Frye and leave the field in victory.

In other news....The other team in the state had their ticket punched for the ACC tourney with Duke's 8-5 loss yesterday.

Well Kiss that good buy

Come on Carolina, all you have to do is win a couple games against the worst team in the SEC east. A Vols team that had lost 9 in a row until the beat Furman. You are at home with everything in your favor, well except the score. You give up 13 runs and get beat down by a pitcher that has a 1-5 record. What the hell is going on? Does anybody think they can pull it out this weekend and make it to Hoover?

USC Baseball needs to win vs Tenn

The latest Boyd’s World RPI has USC at No. 20 nationally.

So, all USC needs to do is win two of three against a Tennessee team that had a nine-game losing streak before the win at Furman. With a 25-7 home record, there is every reason to believe USC can get things straightened out against the Vols.
Then it will not really matter what USC does in the SEC tournament. It will be prepared to do some damage in the NCAA tournament and advance to the super regionals for the eighth time in the past nine seasons.

All that really matters is the three-game series against Tennessee that begins Thursday at Sarge Frye Field. Two wins, and USC qualifies for the SEC tournament. Two wins, and USC gets into the NCAA tournament.

Will USC play host to a super regional? No chance. Will it play host to a regional? Not likely. Will USC be the most dangerous second-seeded team in any regional? Absolutely. Rest assured no top-seed will want the Gamecocks in its regional.

Go Cocks and just win!

Gamecocks beat Bulldogs

18th randked South Carolina defeated The Citadel 10-2 on Tuesday evening in non-conference action at Sarge Frye Field. The Gamecocks improve to 35-18 on the year while the loss drops The Citadel to 25-27 this season. Carolina heads into the final week of SEC play hosting Tennessee in the first of a three-game series beginning Thursday night at 7 pm.

Bring on Tennessee; they beat Furman 4-2.

Carlos Powell arrested over the weekend in Flo Town

Former University of South Carolina basketball star Carlos Powell was arrested and jailed Saturday on weapons and alcohol charges. Oh and current Gamecock Sam Muldrow, his cuz, was the driver but not charged.

The same Carlos Powell that was the #2 pick in the D league draft and he has been putting up 22 points / 6 rbs per game in the D league.

Powell was charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol and with having an open container of beer or wine in a motor vehicle, according to the Florence County Sheriff's Office Web site. So he had his some vodka and a pistol....Powell was booked Saturday night and released Sunday shortly before noon.

Powell, 24, played with the Gamecocks from 2002-2005. He left as the school's sixth-highest career scorer with 1,541 points. As a senior, Powell helped South Carolina to the first of two straight NIT titles.

MORE HERE....thoughts?

Former Gamecock Hambrick going to Jail

A Tampa, Fla., judge has sentenced former University of South Carolina running back Troy Hambrick to five years in prison for selling crack cocaine.

Hambrick, who played for USC from 1996 to 1998 and later for Dallas and Arizona in the NFL, was sentenced today by in U.S. District Court. Hambrick pleaded guilty on Feb. 26 to one count of distributing 50 grams or more of crack cocaine. Court documents show Hambrick sold the drugs in 2007 to a confidential informants near his home in Lacoochee, Fla., about 40 miles north of Tampa.

I think it is safe to say that we can not count on two hands the number of gamecock players (current or former) that have gone to jail in the last 12 months.

Horn keeps it in Gamecock Family

USC's new men's basketball coach Darrin Horn announced Monday he has hired former Gamecocks point guard Mike Boynton as his third assistant.

Boynton was associate head coach at Wofford this past season after spending two years at Coastal Carolina following one year at Furman University after graduating from USC.

This was a good move for Horn in my eyes. Video HERE

Hogs sweep Gamecocks

Arkansas (31-21, 13-13 SEC) records its first SEC series sweep of the season and first since the Razorbacks dispatched the Florida Gators in mid-April, 2007. The Arkansas victory could put the Razorbacks as high as fifth in the overall SEC standings depending on the results of the rest of the league and will put USC in a log jam for fighting for the 6-8 seed. South Carolina (34-18, 13-14 SEC) continues to struggle against a Dave Van Horn coached Arkansas squad as it now stands at 4-11 against the Razorbacks since 2003.

South Carolina returns home for the final four regular season games of the season beginning on Tuesday night with a non-conference game vs. The Citadel set for 7 pm at Sarge Frye Field. The Gamecocks then host Tennessee in a three-game series beginning on Thursday night, with first pitch also at 7 pm.


SEC Conf Title goes to the Dawgs...
Eighth-ranked Georgia captured the 2008 Southeastern Conference title with a 12-10 win over 16th-ranked Vanderbilt Sunday at Hawkins Field. It was the Bulldogs sixth overall SEC title in school history (1933, 1953, 1954, 2001, 2004, 2008), the third this decade including the second under head coach David Perno.