As we wait for the Gamecocks to begin SEC Tournament play there were some good notes and of course rankings to come out today that we want to share with you.
Gamecocks Rankings
The Gamecocks are ranked 7th in both the Rivals poll and the Collegiate Baseball poll. Moving down a bit in the USA Today / ESPN as they have SC at #9 ninth. The Baseball America poll has USC rounding out the top 10 at #10. Most important for the Gamecocks is a rise in their RPI, currently 13th.
Gamecocks Name SEC Tourney Game 1 Starter
Nolan Belcher was named the starter for the Wednesday game vs. the University of Mississippi. Belcher has a 3-0 record and 2.03 ERA this season. He only has five starts this season, but threw a complete game against Ole Miss last season. The Rebels will start ace Drew Pomeranz (7-3) on Wednesday against South Carolina in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
Interesting Notes on this team
The State newspaper has a good piece – Baseball: A season full of positives – and here is some interesting tidbits about this year’s team that struck me and I want to share with ya…
- Only four teams in program history won more games in the regular season: 1974 (44-6), 1975 (44-4-1), 2000 (50-6) and 2002 (44-12). Of those four teams, the 1975 and 2002 teams reached the College World Series, both times losing in the national championship game to Texas.
- The 21-9 SEC mark is third-best since USC joined the league. Only the 2000 (25-5) and 2002 (21-8) teams were better, with those two records good enough to win the regular-season title.
- 8 series wins out of 10 in the SEC, including sweeps of Tennessee, Georgia and Arkansas.
- A 14-0 midweek record in 2010.
I hope the midweek record winning trend continues on Wednesday.