THIS WEEK IN SEC BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK Edward Easley • Mississippi State Junior • C • Olive Branch, Miss.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK Lance Lynn • Ole Miss Sophomore • RHP • Brownsburg, Ind.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK Jake Smith • Alabama 3B • Shannon, Ala.
SEC STANDINGS
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
March 20 (Tuesday) Miss. Valley State at Alabama Postponed Florida at Stetson 7 p.m. ET Mercer at Georgia 5 p.m. ET Ole Miss at South Alabama 4 p.m. CT South Carolina at Wofford 7 p.m. ET Wright State at Tennessee 7 p.m. ET Western Kentucky at Vanderbilt 6 p.m. CT
March 21 (Wednesday) Miss. Valley State at Alabama 6:30 p.m. CT Arkansas at Centenary 2 p.m. CT Western Kentucky at Kentucky 6:30 p.m. ET SE Louisiana at LSU [COX] 6:30 p.m. CT Samford at Mississippi State 6:30 p.m. CT South Carolina at Wofford 7 p.m. ET
March 23 (Friday) *Alabama at Ole Miss 6:30 p.m. CT *Vanderbilt at Arkansas 6:30 p .m. CT *Florida at Auburn [SUN/CSS] 6 p.m. CT *Georgia at Tennessee 7 p.m. ET *Kentucky at LSU 7 p.m. CT *South Carolina at Miss. State [SS] 6:30 p.m. CT
March 24 (Saturday) *Alabama at Ole Miss 4 p.m. CT *Vanderbilt at Arkansas 2 p.m. CT *Florida at Auburn [SUN/CSS] 2 p.m. CT *Georgia at Tennessee 6 p.m. ET *Kentucky at LSU 4 p.m. CT *South Carolina at Miss.State [SS] 3 p.m. CT
March 25 (Sunday) *Alabama at Ole Miss 2 p.m. CT *Vanderbilt at Arkansas 1 p.m. CT *Florida at Auburn [CSS] 2 p.m. CT *Georgia at Tennessee 2 p.m. ET * Kentucky at LSU 11 a.m. CT *South Carolina at Miss.State [SS] 1:30 p.m. CT
* - SEC Game
All Times Local to Game Site
FSN - FOX Sports Net South, Sun Sports, FOX Sports Net Southwest SS - SportsSouth SUN - Sun Sports CSS - Comcast/Charter Sports SE JSN - Jumbo Sports Network COX - Cox Cable Network
2007 SEC TOURNAMENT May 23-27 • Regions Park • Hoover, Ala.
The Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament returns for a 10th straight year to Regions Park in the south-Birmingham suburb of Hoover, Ala., May 23-27.
The SEC Tournament will follow an eight-team double elimination tournament that is modeled after the College World Series. The tournament field includes the top teams from the SEC's Eastern and Western Divisions plus six at-large bids based on conference winning percentage.
The eight teams are seeded 1-8 with the two divisional champions guaranteed of the top two seeds. Last season, Ole Miss defeated Vanderbilt 9-3 in front of a crowd of nearly 10,000, to claim their first SEC Tournament since 1977. Regions Park serves as home of the Double-A Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox) of the Southern League. The stadium also serves as a home field to the nationally renowned Hoover Buccaneer high school football program.
Located eight miles south of Birmingham, Regions Park is regarded by many sports experts as one of the best of its kind in the nation. It seats 10,800 for baseball, but can accommodate over 16,000 when the patio, banquet and side grassy areas are used. The stadium also houses 12 suites and state-of-the-art dressing and training rooms. Wireless internet access was added in 2004, concourse and signage renovation was done in 2005, and plans for second-level pressbox expansion, new seating and an exterior facelift are in the works for 2007 to complete a $2.5 million renovation project.
The 2006 SEC Baseball Tournament, held in Hoover, Ala. drew 108,173 fans, the fourth time in five years to surpass the six-digit mark. The 2002 SEC Baseball Tournament total attendance of 124,440 was the largest total in tourney history. The championship game pulled in 13,023 and was the second largest title game crowd in tournament history. It was also the third largest single game attendance in tourney history at the time. The 2003 SEC Baseball Tournament total attendance of 122,393 was the second largest total in tourney history, barely behind the 2002 event. New session and per game average records were set in 2003.
Tickets for the 2007 tournament are $100 for reserved box seats, $17 for a single-game reserved seat, $60 for a Dr Pepper Six-Pack general admission book, and $12 for a single-game general admission.
The SEC athletic directors recently decided to extend, for five years, the SEC's contract to hold the baseball tournament at Regions Park. The Southeastern Conference will keep its baseball tournament in suburban Birmingham through 2011 with the newly signed deal.
2007 Tournament Bracket
[FSN] - FOX Sports Net South, FOX Sports Net Southwest, Sun Sports [CSS] - Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast
The second and fourth games each day will begin 45 minutes following the previous game, but no earlier than the designated start time.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
ALABAMA Crimson Tide Alabama is fourth in the SEC with a .319 (259-for-811) batting average through 23 games ... The Crimson Tide has added 23 home runs and 154 RBI this season ... Bama averages 7.3 runs and 11.2 hits per game ... Alabama is second in the SEC in hits (259), triples (10) and total bases (391) and ranks fourth in home runs (23) ... The Crimson Tide hit .339 (37-for-109) in its weekend series with Tennessee, with five home runs and 25 RBI ... Alabama leads the league with five home runs ... The Crimson Tide also ranks second in doubles (6), total bases (60) and slugging percentage (.550) and third in hitting (.339) ... Senior center fielder Emeel Salem continues to lead Alabama with a .385 (35-for-91) average with four home runs and 19 RBI ... He also leads UA with 29 runs scored and a .486 on-base percentage ... Salem leads the SEC with 17 stolen bases (20 attempts) ... Salem is Alabama’s all-time stolen base leader with 70 career steals ... He broke the previous record of 68 stolen bases held by David Fowke (1980-81) in the series opener with Tennessee ... Salem has reached base safely in all 23 games this year ... Junior first baseman Matt Bentley is hitting at a .342 (25-for-73) clip with four home runs and 17 RBI ... Bentley has homered in three of his last five games for the Tide to set a personal career high for dingers in a season ... Since Feb. 16., he has hit safely in 15 of 17 games ... Sophomore DH Alex Avila is hitting .337 (30-for-89) in 20 games with three home runs and 22 RBI ... He leads Alabama with 10 doubles ... Freshman third baseman Jake Smith is the fourth-leading hitter with a .333 (23-for-69) with four home runs and 21 RBI ... He hit two homers in his first career SEC series against Tennessee, including a two-run homer in his first career SEC at bat in Friday’s series opener ... Sophomore right fielder Kent Matthes leads UA with five home runs and 27 RBI ... Senior shortstop Greg Paiml tied the UA single-game record with two sacrifice bunts in March 18 loss to Tennessee … Paiml now has 24 career sac bunts which is second on the school’s all-time list … Allen Rice (2002-05) owns the career record with 28 sac bunts … Alabama is 1-3 in extra inning games this season ... The Crimson Tide is 1-4 in one-run games ... Bama’s last four losses have all been by one run.
ARKANSAS Razorbacks No. 9 Arkansas went 3-1 on the week and captured its SEC-series opener at Kentucky with big wins on Friday and Sunday … the 16-6 Razorbacks are tied for the SEC West lead with a 2-1 record in SEC play … Kentucky entered the series undefeated on the season with a No. 12 national ranking, a 29-game regular-season home winning streak at Cliff Hagan Stadium and a gaudy .368-team batting average … the Hogs’ pitching staff posted a 3.81 ERA against the Wildcats and held them .125 points below their season batting average at .243 … offensively, the Razorbacks posted a .424 on-base percentage for the series … UA was hit by 10 pitches over the weekend and drew 22 walks while stealing all three bases attempted … Danny Hamblin’s bat appears to be awaking after hitting .400 with three home runs, two doubles, nine RBI, a .950 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage over the last six games … Hamblin’s two home runs on Sunday at Kentucky was his third multiple-home run game as a Razorback and tied him for third place all time at Arkansas with 39 career home runs … he ranks fifth in career RBI with 176 … Logan Forsythe has taken over the team lead with a .344 batting average … he has a six-game hitting streak going and has hit in 16 of the last 17 games and 16-of-19 games this season … Forsythe already has career highs in hits (21), doubles (2), home runs (3) and RBI (14) in just 61 at bats … Casey Coon extended his team RBI lead to 31 with four RBI at Kentucky while Hamblin and Tschepikow are second with 18 each … Nick Schmidt continues to roll along on the mound with a 5-0 record, including a career-best four straight wins, after beating Kentucky on Friday night … he has a 1.47 ERA with 40 strikeouts on the season and has allowed just three earned runs in his last 30.2 innings of work … he is nine strikeouts shy of David Walling’s No. 2 all-time mark of 283 … Duke Welker earned two wins in two starts this week, beating ORU on Tuesday and No. 12 Kentucky on Sunday … he worked a career-best six innings in both games and allowed just two earned runs in 12 innings while fanning 12 … left-handed reliever Dallas Keuchel was outstanding out of the bullpen, pitching five innings in two appearances … he allowed just one hit, a bunt single, and struck out seven … he earned his first career save with four innings of scoreless baseball to close out Schmidt’s win on Friday at Kentucky.
AUBURN Tigers Auburn dropped to 18-6 on the season with its series loss at Georgia … The Tigers entered the weekend series averaging 11.0 hits per game and 8.6 runs per game but were held to 25 total hits and seven runs in the three-game series … In the VMI series, AU trailed 8-2 heading into the seventh on Wednesday but stormed back to win 10-8 … It was Auburn’s 10th come-back victory of the season and 38th in Tom Slater’s tenure … Auburn’s bullpen suffered two of the three losses on the weekend, throwing 9.2 IP and allowing five runs (three earned) … Auburn is currently 40-51 in stolen bases after attempting just 55 in all of ’06 … Of Auburn’s 25 hits on the weekend, only one went for extra-bases … The Tigers will not play a midweek game this week before hosting Florida for three televised games (Sunshine Network – Friday & Saturday; CSS – Saturday & Sunday). Jr. C/IF Josh Donaldson’s walk-off home run in the ninth against VMI was the 25th of his career, putting him four homers shy of Auburn’s career top-10 list … Donaldson has already driven in 33 runs in 24 games this year after posting 26 in 47 games as a freshman and 42 in 56 games as a sophomore … The Tigers played the weekend series at Georgia without Mike Bianucci, who had the flu … Over the last two years Auburn is 35-30 when Bianucci is in the lineup and 5-10 when he’s not in the lineup.
FLORIDA Gators After splitting the first two games with Western Division rival Mississippi State, Florida (11-12) was nipped in Sunday's rubber match, 14-13...The Gator offense certainly did its part against the Bulldogs, registering a .358 (43-for-120) batting average, with 32 runs, 29 RBI, seven doubles and three homers...Entering the weekend mired in a 5-for-37 (.135) funk with zero RBI on the campaign, senior Brian Leclerc was a scorching 10-for-13 (.769) and drove in seven runs...The right fielder raised his average to .300 on the year and was 2-for-2 on the basepaths...Senior Matt LaPorta went 6-for-11 (.545) versus MSU, with six runs, four walks and a pair of doubles...The slugger continues to pace Florida with an overall average of .406, has drawn 17 walks and registered an on-base percentage of .573...Freshman Cole Figueroa (.313) remains the club's leader in RBI (21) and homers (six) and was 5-for-14 (.357) during his SEC debut, extending his hitting streak to eight games...Senior Austin Pride (.393) continues to swing a hot stick, going 5-for-12 (.417) in the three matchups with State and is 16-for-33 with 19 RBI over the past 10 games for a .485 clip...UF's pitching staff compiled an 11.33 ERA to start league action...Junior RHP Bryan Augenstein (2-3, 3.59) received a no-decision on Friday after yielding eight hits and five runs, with six strikeouts, over 6.1 innings...Sophomore LHP Stephen Locke (3-2, 6.18) picked up his first SEC win since April 10, 2005 by working six innings on Saturday...The southpaw scattered nine hits and gave up six runs...Senior Stephen Porter (0-1, 5.29) threw three frames to collect his first save of the year after being charged with Friday's setback...The Gators erupted for 17 hits during the 10-8 triumph, as the top three hitters in the batting order, junior Jon Townsend (2-for-5), Figueroa (3-for-5) and LaPorta (2-for-4) were a combined 7-for-14 with three runs and three RBI...The final game of the series was a slugfest, as the Bulldogs and Gators totaled 34 hits and 27 runs...Pride matched his season-high of four RBI, including his fifth homer, but sophomore RHP Patrick Keating (1-1, 6.27) was on the hook for the defeat after permitting nine hits and five runs over 2.1 innings in relief of rookie RHP Billy Bullock (2-3, 5.33)...The Gators will embark on a four-game road trip by facing defending Atlantic Sun Conference champion Stetson (17-7) on Tuesday night and then travel to the Plains for a weekend series at No. 10 Auburn (18-6/0-3 SEC) and former Gator assistant coach Tom Slater...The Hatters handed the Orange and Blue a 7-6 setback last March...Auburn claimed two of the three meetings last April in Gainesville...After the Tigers took the opener, 9-6, Augenstein posted a 4-1 win to even the series...AU then edged the hosts, 5-4, to take the series.
GEORGIA Bulldogs With the three wins over #20 Auburn, the Bulldogs notched their first SEC-opening series sweep since 1970 (Kentucky). Georgia posted three SEC sweeps last year, all in consecutive weeks in the second half of the season (@ Florida, vs. #12 USC here and @ Auburn). The Bulldogs have won eight straight over the Tigers. The Bulldog pitching staff limited the Tigers to just seven runs in the series, and the bullpen pitched 10.2 scoreless innings. Meanwhile, Bulldog senior Matt Robbins' two-run home run Sunday against Auburn broke open a 2-2 game and marked the first time in 58 innings that Georgia scored multiple runs in an inning. Georgia is 4-3 in one-run games this season. Georgia concludes a two-game series with red-hot Mercer, winners of seven straight, on Tuesday. The Bears are 17-7 overall including 13-1 since Georgia edged them 6-5 on Feb. 21 in Macon. First pitch at Foley Field will be at 5 p.m., and it will be "Dollar Dog Night" with the concession stand selling hot dogs for a dollar. Mercer opened the season with a pair of road wins over then second-ranked Miami. Mercer closer Cory Gearrin (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 SV) has not allowed a run this season and just one hit in 19.1 innings. Mercer has not announced a probable starting pitcher. Tennessee (13-9, 1-2 SEC) avoided an SEC sweep at Alabama with a 7-6 win in 10 innings Sunday. They were on a six-game winning streak heading to Tuscaloosa but fell to the Crimson Tide 9-7 and 9-1. UT is batting .275 as a team with a 4.78 ERA. They face Wright State Tuesday before the Bulldogs come to town. UT's probable SEC rotation will be senior RHP Craig Cobb (4-2, 4.96 ERA), junior LHP James Adkins (2-3, 3.13 ERA) and freshman lHP Nick Hernandez (2-2, 7.17 ERA). In records dating back to 1950, UT leads the series with UGA 97-77 including taking two of three in Athens last year. Georgia last won a series over UT in 2002 (2-1 in Athens), and the last time it won a series in Knoxville came in 2001 with a sweep en route to an SEC title.
KENTUCKY Wildcats The No. 12 Kentucky baseball team continued its hot start to the season, going 4-2 during the week, despite dropping the Southeastern Conference opening series to No. 9 Arkansas. Kentucky improved to 20-2 after the week, with three mid-week wins over Cleveland State and Canisius. The Wildcats have opened up the 2007 season on a tear, winning its first 19 games to set the school record for the longest win streak and the best start to a season. Kentucky's SEC opening loss to Arkansas on Friday, ended the nation's longest regular season home winning streak at 29 games. Kentucky dominated Cleveland State on Monday 8-0, and topped Canisius 13-2, 10-2 on Monday and Tuesday. Kentucky welcomed the Razorbacks to Cliff Hagan Stadium on Friday for the three-game set, dropping the Friday and Sunday contests. On Saturday, Kentucky notched the win despite an ugly performance from both teams. The contest stretched into a four-plus hour game, featuring seven errors and 18 walks between the two teams. At the plate, Kentucky seniors Mike Brown and Sean Coughlin have paced the Wildcat lineup. Brown leads the team in batting average, reaching at a .452 clip. Brown also leads the team in runs scored (31) and stolen bases (11). Coughlin, a preseason All-American catcher, is batting .402 and leading the team in RBI with an amazing 41. The Morrison, Colo. native, has ripped a club-best 12 doubles, and three triples. On Wednesday, Kentucky returns to action by hosting in-state rival Western Kentucky. Kentucky has not lost a mid-week contest since dropping a 7-6 decision to the Hilltoppers on March 7, 2006. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. EDT at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
LSU Tigers LSU split its four games last week as the Tigers have won six of their last nine contests . . . LSU defeated third-ranked South Carolina, 6-5, on Saturday at Sarge Frye Field . . . LSU right-hander Jared Bradford limited South Carolina to three runs in 8.1 innings Saturday, and the Tigers withstood a late Gamecock charge to record the victory . . . LSU collected 10 hits, including three for extra bases, and did not commit an error en route to ending the Gamecocks’ six-game win streak . . . Bradford (4-1) allowed three runs on six hits in 8.1 innings, the longest outing by an LSU pitcher this season . . . the junior from Hueytown, Ala. fired 132 pitches, recording two walks and six strikeouts . . . Freshman right-hander T.J. Forrest pitched very effectively on Sunday at South Carolina in his first career SEC appearance . . . Forrest, who had Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow just 11 months ago, worked the first five innings of Sunday’s contest, limiting the Gamecocks to one unearned run on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts . . . Forrest left the game after having thrown 57pitches – he remains on a pitch count as he continues his recovery from the surgery . . . including Forrest on the mound, LSU started five true freshmen in Sunday’s game at South Carolina – the others were centerfielder Jared Mitchell, leftfielder Blake Dean, catcher Sean Ochinko and designated hitter Ryan Schimpf . . . Mitchell, Dean and Ochinko also started Games 1 and 2 of the South Carolina series . . . Schimpf enjoyed an excellent day at the plate on Sunday as he was 3-for-4 with a homer and an RBI . . . LSU left-hander Charlie Furbush delivered a solid outing on Friday at South Carolina, recording a season-high 10 strikeouts in 6.1 innings . . . Furbush allowed three earned runs on six hits against the Gamecocks . . . LSU tied a season-high with three homers in Tuesday’s 6-3 win over McNeese State – leftfielder Blake Dean, rightfielder Steven Waguespack and catcher Sean Ochinko each unloaded a HR as the Tigers hit three dingers in a game for the third time this season.
OLE MISS Rebels Ole Miss went 2-2 on the week with a 14-1 win at Arkansas State and a 6-1 win over No. 1 Vanderbilt on the road. The Rebels led the top-ranked Commodores in the ninth inning in both Friday and Sunday’s games before dropping both contests 3-2 in 10 innings on Friday and 7-6 on Sunday. Ole Miss out-scored the Commodores 15 to 11 on the weekend as the Rebels out-hit the Commodores 28- to 26 on the weekend. Zack Cozart hit .500 on the week, including a 4-for-5 perforamnce on Sunday, to lead the Rebel offense as he went 8x16 with four runs scored, five RBI, a .500 on base percentage and no strikeouts.The Henry brothers also helped set the tone for the Rebel offense as Justin Henry hit .421 (8x19) with two runs scored and three RBI, while Jordan Henry hit .400 (6x15) with seven runs scored, four walks, a sacrifice fly and a sac bunt. Junior RHP Will Kline posted a stellar outing against Vanderbilt on Friday, working 8.1 innings as he alllowed only two runs on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts in a 3-2 loss in 10 innings to the top-ranked Commodores. Sophomore LHP Lance Lynn picked up the win on Saturday, posting a no-hitter into the eighth inning as he combined for a one-hit 6-1 win over No. 1 Vanderbilt, handing the Commodores the first loss of the season. Only four batters reached base and only one advanced past first in his first 7.0 innings on the mound. He allowed one unearned run and one hit in the game. With the losses to Vanderbilt, six of the Rebels seven losses this season have been by only one run. Ole Miss will return to action at 4 p.m. on Tuesday when the Rebels hit the road for a single-game at South Alabama. The Rebels will then return home to continue SEC play with a threegame set against #22 Alabama. It is the SEC home opener for Ole Miss.
MISSISSIPPI STATE Bulldogs After an 11-day, seven-game road run, Mississippi State opens a season-longest 10-game homestand this week with four games at Dudy Noble Field. The Bulldogs (12-4, 2-1 SEC) entertain Samford (11-10) Wednesday (6:30 p.m.) and then open home SEC competition hosting No. 3 South Carolina (17-3, 2-1 SEC) this weekend (6:35 p.m./3:05 p.m./1:35 p.m.). All three games will be televised regionally on SportSouth, with SEC-TV’s Dave Neal and Larry Conley calling the action. The Gamecocks are the Bulldogs’ first ranked opponent in 2007 … State opens the week sporting an SEC-leading .378 team batting average. Junior catcher and Johnny Bench Award candidate Edward Easley (.516), this week’s SEC Player of the Week, leads a foursome of Bulldog hitters with top 10 league batting averages. Behind Easley’s league-best mark are freshman shortstop Brandon Turner (4th-.413), junior first baseman Mitch Moreland (8th-.400) and senior second baseman Jeffrey Rea (9th-.397) … Easley, Moreland, Rea and senior DH Brian LaNinfa (.353) have each hit safely in 15 of MSU’s 16 games … With a team-leading 11 hits last week (11x20, .550), senior second baseman Jeffrey Rea raised his career hits total to 278, climbing from a tie for 10th to a tie for 6th (with current MSU assistant coach Tommy Raffo) among MSU’s career hits leaders. He moved past former Rafael Palmeiro (268 hits, 1983-85) with two hits last week at Dallas Baptist with the former Bulldog All-American on hand to watch the game in Dallas …Sophomore outfielder Nick Hardy (.429), who missed the first nine games of the season with a wrist injury, made his MSU debut and played in all seven games of State’s recent seven-game road trip. He is the 28th player to play and the 17th player to draw a start for State … Sophomore pitcher Chad Crosswhite earned his first career SEC win and relief pitchers Mitch Moreland and John Lalor their first career saves during the Bulldogs’ three-game series at Florida. State out-scored the Gators 34-32 in winning the offense-dominated SEC opening weekend series (12-9, 10-8, 14-13) and claiming its first series win at Florida since 1990 … MSU will announce the addition of a home game to its 2007 schedule in the coming weeks to replace the UT-Arlington game rained out Mar. 13 in Texas.
SOUTH CAROLINA Gamecocks South Carolina won four of five games this week with wins of 13-5 and 4-1 over Appalachian State and victories in two of three games vs. LSU … Carolina defeated the Tigers 5-0 on Friday, fell 6-5 on Saturday and won the rubber game of the series, 9-5 on Sunday … The Gamecocks have played well at home at Sarge Frye Field with a 11-1 record … Friday’s victory over LSU featured a strong performance from starting pitcher Harris Honeycutt … With seven shutout innings in the 5-0 win, Honeycutt extended his scoreless inning streak to 21 innings … He allowed just three hits and walked only two batters while tying a season-high with nine strikeouts … Honeycutt is now 5-0 on the year with a 0.86 ERA in 31.1 innings as well as 35 strikeouts and has combined for three shutouts in his five starts made this year … The junior right-hander is now 13-0 in his career with the Gamecocks … Another Carolina pitcher with a scoreless inning streak is freshman right-hander Blake Cooper, who started Sunday’s 9-5 win over LSU and worked 5.2 scoreless innings allowing just two hits while striking out four batters … Cooper is 3-0 in six appearances this year and has a 0.00 ERA in 15 innings with 14 strikeouts and just three walks … Through 20 games of the year, the Carolina pitching staff is among the nation’s best with a 2.33 ERA in 181.1 innings with 188 strikeouts to 56 walks as well … Opponents are batting just .206 on the year vs. the Gamecock pitchers … Sunday’s 9-5 win vs. the Tigers featured a 4-for-5 performance from Trent Kline … Kline set a career-high with his four hits and also tied career marks in runs (3) and RBI (4) as he tallied two doubles, a single and a homer in the victory … The junior catcher leads the Gamecocks with a .380 batting average (27-for-71) and has 18 runs scored, a team-high eight doubles, three homers and 20 RBI on the year … Kline batted 8-for-13 in the series vs. LSU (three doubles, homer, five RBI) and 12-for-20 (.600) vs. App State and LSU … He also leads the team with nine multi-hit games on the year … Junior outfielder Harley Lail has been impressive in the last two weeks since taking over left field and leadoff duties for the Gamecocks … Lail homered in Friday’s 5-0 win over LSU and is batting .375 on the year (12-for-32) with three doubles, two homers and six RBI in eight starts for the Gamecocks … Tuesday’s 13-5 win over Appalachian State featured a season-high 20 hits … South Carolina has outscored opponents 166-58 this season and have lost only three games, each just by one run … With two of three wins vs. LSU this weekend, head coach Ray Tanner is now 19-14 in his 11-year career as head coach with the Gamecocks vs. the Tigers … South Carolina has won three straight series vs. LSU and own nine wins in the last 10 games played dating back to the 2004 College World Series.
TENNESSEE Volunteers The Tennessee baseball team (13-9) went 2-2 last week with a midweek home win over Morehead State and one road victory at No. 22 Alabama over the weekend … The Vols were led at the plate last weekend by sophomore shortstop Tony Delmonico, who batted .583 with seven hits, five RBIs and his fourth home run of the season … Delmonico is now hitting . 313 on the year with 26 hits and 13 RBIs … Overall this season, Tennessee is batting .275 as a team (.304 vs. LHP and .266 vs. RHP) with 5.7 runs and 9.1 hits per game … True freshman Yan Gomes leads the club with 27 hits and 16 RBIs Gomes and Delmonico share the team-lead in home runs with four, while UT has 14 home runs as a team … J.P. Arencibia is nearing full health following a back injury earlier in the season … Having recently rejoined the lineup, the two-time All-America is batting .239 in 15 games played and was recently among 27 Division I catchers named to the 2007 Johnny Bench Award watch list … Fellow preseason All-America selection Julio Borbon continues to progress closer and closer to joining the Vols’ starting lineup … Borbon who is coming off a fractured ankle suffered in January had three pinch-hit appearances last week with one hit … Sophomore third baseman Cody Brown was hit in the hand last Friday by a Tommy Hunter fastball and was forced to miss the final two games of the Alabama series … Brown will be evaluated this week and his status for the Georgia series should be known prior to the weekend … Junior Andy Simunic took over at third base, marking the fourth different position at which he has started this year … On the mound, Tennessee sports a 4.78 staff ERA with a 2.1 strikeout-to-walk ratio … Opposing batters are hitting .297 vs. the Vols, and the Tennessee bullpen owns a 4-3 record with five saves and a 4.45 ERA … Tennessee top-two starters senior right-hander Craig Cobb and junior left-hander James Adkins combine to boast a 6-5 record with a 4.10 ERA and 81 strikeouts to 17 walks … Adkins moved into second place on UT’s all-time games-started list when he logged his 42nd career start last Saturday at Alabama … True freshman left-hander Jeff Lockwood has been outstanding thus far as UT’s closer … In five mound appearances this season (one start), Lockwood has fashioned a 0.68 ERA with 10 strikeouts, two walks and three runs allowed (one earned) in 13.1 innings of action … The Vols are 38-of-48 on stolen-base attempts this season, and Tennessee catchers threw out three Alabama baserunners last weekend … The Vols have turned 26 double plays in 22 games this season and are fielding .958 as a team … Tennessee hosts Wright State Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Lindsey Nelson Stadium before Georgia comes to Knoxville for a three-game weekend series.
VANDERBILT Commodores Vanderbilt (21-1, 2-1 SEC) lost for the first time this season against No. 14 Ole Miss on Saturday, but captured the three-game series against the Rebels in dramatic fashion, using ninth inning rallies in one-run wins on Friday and Sunday… The Commodores won the regular season series over the Rebels for the third straight year … VU is 8-0 in one run games this year and have come from behind in 12 of its 21 wins on the year … David Price produced his third straight complete game (in six starts on the year), this one a yeoman 10 inning performance in the 3-2 win over Ole Miss in 10 innings Friday night. He held the Rebels to just four hits and two runs while striking out 14 with just two walks. On the season he is 5-0 with 71 strikeouts in 45.2 innings. It was his fifth straight game with double digit strikeouts … Offensively, Matt Meingasner seems to have claimed the full-time starter’s role in leftfield with four starts on the week, he was 7-for-16 (.438) with two homers, nine RBI and five runs scored. He had a .813 slugging percentage with a .500 on base percentage. He was 4-for-5 with a homer and six RBI against Belmont and also came up huge with game-tying hits in the bottom of the ninth in the two wins over Ole Miss … The Commodores won the regular season series over the Rebels for the third straight year … Shea Robin also had a solid week at the plate going 7-for-16 as well with three RBI and six runs scored. He raised his batting average from .276 at the start of the week to .311 after Sunday’s win … Alex Feinberg went 6-for-14 (.429) in four games, with three of the hits coming in Sunday’s win from the leadoff spot in the order. It was his first game this season hitting in that spot after mostly hitting eighth or second … Mike Minor made his SEC debut with 1.1 innings of two-hit scoreless relief against Ole Miss on Sunday … Cody Crowell returned to form in two relief appearances on the week, giving up one run on four hits in 7.1 innings with three strikeouts and a walk. He picked up his first win of the year against Belmont on Wednesday … Freshman Caleb Cotham pitched an inning of scoreless relief against the Bruins on Wednesday … Dominic de la Osa hit two homers on the week and now has five on the year, two behind Pedro Alvarez for the team lead … Vanderbilt closes out a streak of 19 of 20 games in Nashville this Tuesday against Western Kentucky before heading out the next two weekends in SEC play against Arkansas and South Carolina.
2007 HITTING STREAKS As of March 19
Current (min 10) Sean Coughlin, UK 15 Josh Donaldson, AU 11 Brandon Turner, MSU 10
Season (min 10) Mitch Moreland, MSU 14 Dominic de la Osa, VU 13 Edward Easley, MSU 13 Ryan Flaherty, VU 13 Pedro Alvarez, VU 11 Logan Forsythe, ARK 10 Andrew Giobbi, VU 10 Danny Lima, UT 10 David Macias, VU 10
2007 SEC ATTENDANCE LEADERS As of March 19
Year after year, the SEC continues to be the benchmark in college baseball attendance. The SEC and its member schools own virtually all regular season, conference tournament, NCAA Regional and Super Regional attendance records. In 2005, the SEC set a goal to reach the 1.5 million attendance mark for the first time in league history and came within 10,000 fans of reaching that goal. The drive was renewed and continued for the 2006 season, a season which saw over 1.6 million fans at SEC ballparks. Below is a team-by-team breakdown of the home paid attendance figures so far during the 2007 SEC baseball season.
*Some teams have played doubleheaders at various points of the season, giving them less home dates than they have played actual home games.
TOP HOME CROWDS OF 2007
TOP NEUTRAL SITE CROWDS OF 2007
Non-Conference Record 154-59 (.723) • As of March 19
America East 0-0 .000 Atlantic Coast 3-5 .375 Atlantic 10 8-0 1.000 Atlantic Sun 8-9 .471 Big East 5-1 .833 Big Sky 0-0 .000 Big South 4-4 .500 Big Ten 6-2 .750 Big 12 9-7 .563 Big West 0-0 .000 Colonial 7-0 1.000 Conference USA 8-4 .667 Horizon 13-4 .765 Ivy League 3-0 1.000 Metro Atlantic Ath. 8-0 1.000 Mid-American 10-3 .769 Mid-Continent 3-0 1.000 Mid-Eastern Ath. 3-1 .750 Midwestern Coll. 0-0 .000 Missouri Valley 4-2 .667 Northeast 0-0 .000 Ohio Valley 16-2 .889 Pacific-10 5-8 .385 Patriot 1-0 1.000 Southern 9-3 .750 Southland 5-0 1.000 SWAC 1-0 1.000 Sun Belt 11-2 .846 Trans America Ath. 0-0 .000 West Coast 4-0 1.000 Western Athletic 2-1 .667 Independents 3-1 .750 Non-Division I 0-0 .000
SEC FIELDING STATS (As of 3/19)
Catcher C PO AT E AVG Kline SC......... 170 160 10 0 1.000 Walker AR........ 129 115 14 0 1.000 Ochinko LS....... 116 105 11 0 1.000 S. Coughlin UK... 87 79 8 0 1.000 Spruill AU....... 69 65 4 0 1.000 Robin VU......... 188 171 16 1 .995 First Base C PO AT E AVG Bentley UA....... 172 158 14 0 1.000 Smoak SC......... 168 154 14 0 1.000 Ochinko LS....... 98 89 9 0 1.000 Jones UT......... 84 79 5 0 1.000 Hamblin AR....... 177 164 12 1 .994 A. Clark UM...... 168 156 11 1 .994 Second Base C PO AT E AVG Jones SC......... 103 46 55 2 .981 Feinberg VU...... 66 27 37 2 .970 Lima UT.......... 93 35 54 4 .957 Figueroa UF...... 79 28 47 4 .949 Brooks AU........ 115 38 70 7 .939 Texada UA........ 74 30 39 5 .932 Third Base C PO AT E AVG M. McKinney UK... 38 7 29 2 .947 C. Overbeck UM... 54 12 39 3 .944 Forsythe AR...... 35 8 25 2 .943 Peisel UG........ 31 11 18 2 .935 Smith UA......... 39 8 28 3 .923 Alvarez VU....... 76 11 59 6 .921 Wise LS.......... 66 6 54 6 .909 Shortstop C PO AT E AVG Willard AR....... 30 16 13 1 .967 Smalling AR...... 56 22 32 2 .964 Flaherty VU...... 89 27 58 4 .955 Figueroa UF...... 42 12 28 2 .952 Havens SC........ 73 25 44 4 .945 Beckham UG....... 103 37 60 6 .942 B. Spear UK...... 62 16 42 4 .935 Outfield (Min. 10) C PO AT E AVG Wyatt UG......... 57 56 1 0 1.000 L. Power UM...... 53 53 0 0 1.000 Matthes UA....... 45 42 3 0 1.000 Macias VU........ 40 36 4 0 1.000 Jo. Henry UM..... 35 35 0 0 1.000 Dugger AR........ 32 32 0 0 1.000 Pigott UF........ 31 31 0 0 1.000 Crisp, And. SC... 29 29 0 0 1.000 Olson UG......... 28 28 0 0 1.000 Jones AR......... 21 19 2 0 1.000 J. Kipnis UK..... 21 21 0 0 1.000 F. Smith UM...... 19 18 1 0 1.000 Hrozek AR........ 18 18 0 0 1.000 Griffin UT....... 18 18 0 0 1.000 Willard SC....... 18 17 1 0 1.000 Hurst SC......... 17 16 1 0 1.000 Meingasner VU.... 15 15 0 0 1.000 M. Brown UK...... 14 13 1 0 1.000 Carroll AR....... 14 14 0 0 1.000 Cannady UG....... 14 13 1 0 1.000 Julius AR........ 12 12 0 0 1.000 K. Wiley UK...... 12 12 0 0 1.000 Beasley UT....... 12 12 0 0 1.000 Davis, R. VU..... 11 11 0 0 1.000 Jones AU......... 11 9 2 0 1.000 Robison AR....... 10 9 1 0 1.000