Tuesday, March 19, 2024

State schedule, Tuesday, March 19


Southeastern CC at USC Lancaster, DH, 1 p.m.
Florence-Darlington Tech at Brunswick CC, 2 p.m.
Limestone at Erskine, 2 p.m.
UNC Pembroke at USC Beaufort, 3 p.m.
Wofford at Georgia, 4 p.m. (moved from 5 p.m.)
Emmanuel at USC Aiken, 5 p.m.
Southern Wesleyan at Anderson, 5 p.m.
Barton at Coker, 6 p.m.
Charleston Southern at Campbell, 6 p.m.
Coastal Carolina at N.C. State, 6 p.m.
College of Charleston at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m.
Newberry at Augusta, 6 p.m.
Wingate at Francis Marion, 6 p.m.
Winthrop at Clemson, 6 p.m.

Fluor Field, Greenville 
South Carolina vs. USC Upstate, 6 p.m.

Video streaming possibilities

(there may be other baseball in addition to the state games listed below)
* ACCNX: Coastal Carolina at N.C. State; Winthrop at Clemson.
* ESPN+-$: College of Charleston at Georgia Southern; South Carolina vs. USC Upstate.
* SECN+: Wofford at Georgia.
* Conference CarolinasDN: Limestone at Erskine; Wingate at Francis Marion.
* FloBaseball-$: Barton at Coker; Charleston Southern at Campbell; Southern Wesleyan at Anderson.
* PBC Sports Network: Emmanuel at USC Aiken; Newberry at Augusta; UNC Pembroke at USC Beaufort.
* National DI video/audio:  (Thanks to @auppl)
$ - subscription required

Monday, March 18, 2024

State scoreboard, Monday, March 18

Niko Laing doubled in the go-ahead run in Game 1
of the Fire Ants' sweep. (USC Sumter photo)
Player of the day: Niko Laing, USC Sumter 3-8, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI

Briefly: J.T. Popick homered to lead off Game 1 and Seth Kirby and Jack Peeler drove in three runs apiece as USC Sumter swept USC Union to clinch a Region 10 series win.

Erskine JV 7, Piedmont JV 5, Game 1
Piedmont JV 17, Erskine JV 6, Game 2
Limestone JV 9, Columbia International JV 1, Game 1
Limestone JV 12, Columbia International JV 11, Game 2
USC Sumter 4, USC Union 2, Game 1 - Sum: Niko Laing 2-4, 2B, R, RBI
USC Sumter 14, USC Union 6, Game 2 - Sum: Josh Keen W, 4 IP, 6 K
(6/710)

Dissa and data, March 18


Anderson

Troj-antics: It must have been a frustrating weekend for coach P.Z. Zocchi, who saw his club's losing streak reach seven games. Anderson outhit Newberry in the series opener, but never led and left the bases loaded in the ninth inning of a 9-8 loss. The Trojans led 4-0 after two innings of Game 2, but were outscored 12-1 the rest of the way. In the series finale, the Trojans led 7-5, fell behind 10-7 and tied the score entering the ninth. After the first two Wolves batters were hit by pitches, the play-by-play indicates the head coach (Zocchi) was ejected. I have no idea why, and won't speculate. But the ejection may have spared him even more anguish - unless he was able to watch out of sight of the umpires. A wild pitch and two sacrifice flies followed to give Newberry a 12-10 victory. 

Benedict

Bene-feats: The Tigers are 8-7 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, five games behind first-place Albany State ... Taj Bates' walk-off homer against Kentucky State in the 10th inning on Sunday was his team-leading fourth home run. He also leads with 21 RBI. His .429 batting average is second to Jamell Mitchell Jr.'s .444 mark. Mitchell is 20-for-22 in stolen bases, with the team at 99-for-112 ... Nicholas Giola has three of the Tigers' six complete games and three of their nine wins.

Bob Jones

Bru-insights: The Bruins are idle until a March 26 game at Truett McConnell ... Riley Ramsey has hit safely in 14 of 16 games and has a .403 batting average ... Joshua Legnard, who pitched a shutout on Saturday, has struck out 33 and walked 11 in 32 innings ... Henry Wallach hit 40 batters in 187 innings during his first three seasons, but has hit just two in 25 innings this year. Two of his three starts this year have resulted in complete games.

Charleston Southern

Buc blasts: Cade Conway went 10-for-17 last week to raise his batting average to .458. He is 12-for-13 in stolen bases ... Dakota Miller was 6-for-15 with six RBI against High Point ... Chandler Tuopo (.409) has a 10-game hitting streak ... Anthony Ramirez allowed one hit and no earned runs in a five-inning relief appearance on Saturday.

Claflin

Claf-lines: Sunday's no-hit loss to Augusta was the third for the Panthers in 13 months. A no-hitter and a perfect game came eight days apart in February. 2023. All three were against Peach Belt Conference competition ... Tigers batters have struck  out 10 or more times in 14 of 24 games. They have struck out 246 times compared to 85 walks.

Clemson 

Tiger tales: Clemson has won 12 consecutive regular-season weekend series, including the last eight in the ACC ... The Tigers have outhomered opponents 37-19 ... Jimmy Obertop has hit safely in seven of his last eight games ... Blake Wright has hit four homers in his last seven games and is 9-for-21 during his six-game hitting streak to raise his batting average (.305) by 43 points ... After striking out 10 in six innings at Duke, Tristan Smith has 36 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings ... Aidan Knaak has allowed two earned runs and struck out 15 in 12 1/3 innings in his last two starts ... Injury has slowed Cam Cannarella's baserunning exploits this season. He is 0-for-1 in stolen base attempts after going 24-for-29 last season.

Coastal Carolina

Chanti-sphere: Tuesday's trip to N.C. State will be Coastal's first road game after starting the season 17-3 at home ... Blake Barthol has had six multi-hit games during his seven-game hitting streak. He has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games.

Coker

Snake strikes: Gabriel Santiago got his first three starts of the season over the weekend and went 4-for-10. He had a hit in his only previous at-bat against Lander March 5 ... Kody Hanna has raised his batting average to .370 with a 10-for-19 effort during a five-game hitting streak ... Benjamin Blackwell pitched five shutout innings against Virginia Wise on Sunday to move to 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA. He also has two saves ...  Aaron Diaz gave up his first two homers of the season in Friday's loss. After not allowing a homer in his first six starts, Diaz was tagged by UVa Wise leadoff hitter Nick Badgett in the first inning.

College of Charleston

Cougar curves: Jake Brink lowered his ERA to 2.03 with eight shutout innings against Wofford ... Five shutout innings for Connor Campbell on Sunday put his ERA at 2.22 ... Will Baumhofer has an eight-game hitting streak, going 14-for-28 in that span ... Cole Singsank has four home runs in his last six games ... Kevin Madden went hitless in consecutive games for the first time this season in the first two games against Wofford. He had been hitless in one game prior to that

Columbia International

Ram-egrams: Johnson University, CIU's opponent last weekend, is coached by former Tennessee coach Dave Serrano ... Emmanuel Maldonado was 4-for-12 against Johnson ... Collin Otte has not allowed an earned run in 12 innings over his last seven outings. He has struck out 15 ... Scott McDonough has a nine-game hitting streak with three homers and 13 RBI in that span. He is 15 for his last 32.

Erskine

Fleet filberts: Erskine has won four of its last five games, all in Conference Carolinas play ... After batting leadoff for most of the season, Josean Sanchez was moved down in the order for the final two games of the Belmont Abbey series. He went 5-for-7 and scored three times. He is batting .406 ... Daniel Hernandez has driven in 10 runs and scored eight during a seven-game hitting streak that has  raised his average to .388 ... Dale Francis Jr. has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games ... Christian Rivera homered in both games Saturday after hitting just one in his first 24 games.

Florence-Darlington Tech

Stinger zingers:  Having the bye week in Region 10 play last weekend allowed coach Preston McDonald, his staff and players a Saturday and Sunday without a game ... Tech is on a 12-game winning streak ... Matthew Driver has a 0.77 ERA in 11 2/3 innings covering seven relief appearances ... Rom Kellis had a seven-game hitting streak snapped in the final game of the USC Salkehatchie series March 11. He was 15-for-26 in the streak ... The Stingers have scored in double figures in their last seven games and have scored 10 or more 15 times in 28 games.

Francis Marion

Patriot-ics: The current four-game losing streak is a season high ... Zack Summerville hit his second and third homers of the second in Sunday's first game ... Noah Stout hit two home runs in the season-opener with Newberry, then didn't homer again until he hit two last week ... Chas DeBruhl allowed four earned runs in four innings at Barton on Saturday. He had allowed four earned runs in 23 innings prior to that.

Lander

Lander liners: Ethan Wilder had a six-game hitting streak  snapped when he went hitless in the finale at Columbus State. He drove in seven runs in four games last week ... The Bearcats struck out 27 times in the CSU series after a season-low two in last Tuesday's 24-7 win over Francis Marion.

Limestone

Halo happenings: The Saints have lost six of eight since a nine-game winning streak. Five of the losses were in South Atlantic Conference games ... Limestone's starters had a 11.81 ERA in the Catawba series ... Winston Parke hit safely in all three games of the Catawba series, homered once and scored five times.

Morris

Hornet heaters: Tijawan Black didn't look very rusty after Morris went more than three weeks between games. He went 4-for-11 in the weekend series at Bluefield State, extending his hitting streak to five games. He has stolen four bases during the streak ... Jeremy Roberts went 5-for-11 at Bluefield State.

Newberry

Wolf howls: The Wolves have won seven of nine since a 4-14 start. Newberry has had 10 or more hits and scored nine or more runs in its last five wins ... Brody Winter homered on Friday and Donovan Ford homered on Sunday after the Wolves had homered once in their first 24 games ... Ford has six multi-hit games during his seven-game hitting streak. He is 16-for-29 during the streak, raising his average to .382. Nine of his 19 RBI have come in the last six games ... Kade Faircloth is on a six-game hitting streak ... Jacob LeBron had two triples at Anderson, giving him three this season ... Tyler Chinpire had his best outing of the season, allowing one run over five innings on Saturday.

North Greenville 

Crusader capers: Before losing two of three at UNC Pembroke,  the Crusaders had won seven straight Conference Carolinas series. They have not lost a conference home series since 2021 ... Dakota Britt hit two homers at UNCP and has three for the season - all solo shots ... Reece Fields was tagged for nine runs in two innings on Saturday. He had allowed four earned runs in 40 innings prior to that.

Presbyterian

Kilt kernels: The Blue Hose have scored seven runs and are batting .127 during their five-game losing streak ... The pitching staff gave up 11 earned runs in six games prior to allowing 10 in Sunday's finale against George Washington ... Pitchers have struck out 208 batters in 176 innings ... Charlie McDaniel has allowed one earned run in his last 18 innings, lowering his ERA to 1.53.

South Carolina

Fowl fare: USC batters have drawn 159 walks, tied with Texas A&M for most in the country ... Gamecocks pitchers have struck out 196 in 167 2/3 innings ... Ethan Petry's homer at Ole Miss on Saturday was the 30th of his career, making him the 29th Gamecock to reach that mark ... Kennedy Jones was 7-for-12 with a homer at Ole Miss and leads the regulars with a .388 batting average ... Ty Good has a 0.66 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings.

Southern Wesleyan

Southern cooking: Jarrett Whitley (5) and Cam Mitchem (4) have accounted for nine of the Warriors' 11 homers this season. They have combined for 38 RBI, more than the next five players combined ... Marty Grisso has a six-game hitting streak.

Spartanburg Methodist

Pioneer pearls: The weekend sweep of USC Salkehatchie moved the Pioneers' winning streak to nine games ... SMC has a .365 team batting average. Only two players with 25 or more at-bats are hitting below .330 ... Davis Wright is 5-0 with a 1.74 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 31 innings ... Kemper Nix (6-1, 1.99) has fanned 49 in 31 2/3 innings ... Schley Gordy has a 10-game hitting streak ... Kai Tullos has hit five of his team-leading seven home runs during his eight-game hitting streak.

The Citadel

Bulldog bombs: The Bulldogs have had double figures in hits in every game of their five-game winning streak and have raised the team batting average from .282 to .313. Javier Crespo is 10-for-22 during the streak ... Wells Sykes has had multiple hits in six of the last seven games.

USC Aiken

Pacer patter:  Streaks have been the norm for Aiken this season: 7 losses, 3 wins, 3 losses, 4 wins, 9 losses. The seven losses to open the season set a school-record for USCA's NCAA Division II era, but the current skid has passed that ... Capers Molinaroli was 7-for-15 last week ... Josh Sharp had a 12-game hitting streak snapped when he went 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter in the Flagler series opener. He did not play in the last two games. I do not know if there was an injury issue ... Jacob Fletcher has struck out 42 in 40 innings.

USC Beaufort

Shark bites: Carson Phillips had two hits in every game of the North Georgia series and has an eight-game hitting streak ... In North Georgia's seven-run fifth inning in the series opener, USCB pitchers walked eight batters - five with the bases loaded.

USC Lancaster

Lancer lots: Joe Sperry has 14 of USCL's 32 homers and his 48 RBI are double the next closest teammate ... Eddie Olmeda extended his hitting streak to 15 game before sitting out the Sunday doubleheader with Gaston College.  I do not know if an injury was involved. Olmeda is batting .528 ... The Lancers have scored 10 or more runs in 16 of 32 games.

USC Salkehatchie

Indian items: The weekend sweep against Spartanburg Methodist extended the Salkehatchie losing streak to 17 games ... Bradley Garland had a nine-game hitting streak snapped in Game 2 on Saturday.

USC Sumter

Ant hills: Israel May has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games ... The Fire Ants have stolen 56 bases in eight attempts, led by J.T. Popick's 15-for-16 effort ... Popick hit his first homer of the season to lead off Monday's first game at USC Union ... The five home runs in the USC Union series matched the Fire Ants' output for the first 26 games.

USC Union

Bantam bits: Tyler Strickland went 6-for-11 with two homers against USC Sumter, raising his batting average to .413 ... The Bantams made nine errors in four games against the Fire Ants.

USC Upstate

Upper cuts: The 20 runs in Sunday's series finale against Gardner-Webb were a school record for a Big South Conference game ... It marked the fourth straight season with a sweep to open conference play ... The current eight-game winning streak spanned an entire homestand ... Jace Rinehart has a .398  batting average and is on a 10-game hitting streak ... Troy Hamilton has a nine-game hitting streak with three of his nine home runs during that span ... Koby Knopf had a 15-game hitting streak snapped in Saturday's game ... The Spartans have a .322 team batting average ... After allowing eight runs in four innings against Kentucky, Noah Sullivan has allowed two runs in 25 innings in his last four starts.
 

Voorhees

Bengal bingles: Jordyn Hill leads the Tigers with a .318 batting average ... Kawan Ellerbe-James  has a team-best 13 RBI ... Joseph Gaines is 14-for-16 in stolen bases ... Jathan Smith has four of Voorhees' eight  wins.

Winthrop

Eagle eggstra: Riley Huge has 64 strikeouts in 32 innings. His ERA is 2.81 ... Chancellor Jennings was 4-for-6 in two starts against Longwood. He had just one start and two at-bats previously ... Charlie Evans extended his hitting streak to 11 games at Charlotte last week, but did not play against Longwood. I do not know if an injury was a factor. Alan Benhardt also has an 11-game hitting streak. He was 6-for-12 against Longwood.

Wofford

Terrier tappers: Dixon Black got his 200th career hit in the weekend series at College of Charleston. He leads the team with a .415 average and 26 RBI ... Tyler Hare leads Wofford with seven homers, including two on Sunday ... Marshall Toole is 15-for-15 in stolen bases ... The Terriers could steal just one base in two attempts against the Cougars. They had 54 steals and had gone without a stolen base just once in the first 14 games ... Wofford has had 10 or more hits in seven of its last eight games ...The 11 runs by College of Charleston on Sunday matched the season high against Wofford, set by Towson in the Terriers' 12-11 win on opening day ... Wofford pitchers had 145 strikeouts in 14 games before getting just 15 in the three games at Patriots Point.

Palmetto State Baseball Podcast, March 18, 2024

Poll updates, March 18


Baseball America:
1. Arkansas. 3. Clemson (9). 21. South Carolina (12). 22. Coastal Carolina.

D1 Baseball: 1. Arkansas. 4. Clemson (10). 13. Coastal Carolina (16). Dropped out: South Carolina (20).

Perfect Game: 1. Arkansas. 4. Clemson (10). 14. Coastal Carolina (23). Dropped out: South Carolina.

USA TODAY Coaches: 1. Arkansas. 5. Clemson (9). 15. Coastal Carolina (17). Dropped out: South Carolina (20).
Coaches

NCBWA: 1. Arkansas (2). 3. Clemson (8). 13. Coastal Carolina (17). 25. South Carolina (21).
College Baseball Central: 1. Arkansas. 3. Clemson. 16. Coastal Carolina. 17. South Carolina.
CBC

College Baseball Nation: 1. Arkansas 3. Clemson. 11. Coastal Carolina. 
CBN

11point7 mid majors: 1. Dallas Baptist. 2. Coastal Carolina. 16. College of Charleston.
11point7

D2insider.com: 1. Tampa. 6. North Greenville (2).

NJCAA Divsion I: 1. Gulf Coast. 2. Gaston. 3. Georgia Highlands. 11. Florence-Darlington Tech. 
JC
(last week's ranking, if different, in parentheses)

Live scoreboard, March 18


VisitorRunsInn.RunsHomeTimeNote/TV
USC Sumter4F2USC UnionGame 1
USC Sumter14F6USC UnionGame 2
Erskine JV7F5Piedmont JVGame 1
Erskine JV6T17Piedmont JVGame 2
Columbia International JV1F9Limestone JVGame 1
Columbia International JV11B712Limestone JVGame 2