Georgia Southern, the four seed and Southern Conference Champion, is the Gamecocks’ opening round opponent. The Eagles from Statesboro, GA are about as good a four seed as you will find in the field. They have an RPI of 80, which is quite good for a 4 seed. (For comparison, Virginia Tech is the closest major conference team RPI-wise at 78).
Batting: The story all week for the Eagles has been centerfielder Victor Roache. He leads the nation in home runs with 30. (Second place only has 22.) He can also hit for average at .327 and has driven in 83. There are three other potent Eagle hitters. Eric Phillips leads the team with a gaudy .398 average. Phillips is also a threat to run when he gets on base; he has stolen 25 bases in 30 attempts. Steve Cochrane is second on the team with a .332 average and is second on the team with 56 RBI. Shawn Payne, who has a tendency to strike out is batting .319 and is the most dangerous Eagle on the base paths. He has swiped 32 bags in 35 attempts. After these four, no other GSU player is batting over .280.
Pitching: Lost in all the talk about the Eagles batting ability has been their pitching. In all likelihood they will send their ace to the mound, Andy Moye. Moye, a right hander, has a 7-1 record and a 2.54 ERA. Opponents are batting only .237 against him, but he sometimes will walk too many. His strikeout to walk ratio is less than 2 to 1. If things are going well for the Eagles, Matt Murray, their closer, will probably make an appearance. Murray is the Eagles most used reliever with 25 appearances. He has 9 saves, an ERA of 2.37 and a strikeout to walk ratio of better than 2-1. If the Eagles don’t turn to Murray, look for Will Middour (3-1, 5.09 ERA) or Jarret Leverett (0-3, 7.59 ERA).
South Carolina: The Gamecocks are going to start Michael Roth tonight. Georgia Southern is too good to try to mess around with another starter, so to get the Regional started off right, Roth will take the mound. The batting line up should look like one of the subtle variations that we are used to seeing. Brady Thomas will play, either as catcher or designated hitter. Adam Matthews will also be available, but he will probably be used as a pinch hitter rather than in the field.
What South Carolina Needs: First, they need a win. 1-0, 19-18 or 10-0 would all work. There are no style points now. The longer Roth can last, the better. If Carolina is to win the regional, they will have to play 3-5 games. If the bullpen can be rested the first night, it increases the likelihood of success down the road.
Check back tomorrow morning for a preview of N.C. State or Stetson, one of which will be the Gamecocks second round opponent.
