Who's hot; who's not: Feb. 20

 

Sizzlin'

* Clemson (Last week: 3-0. Overall: 3-0. Streak: Won 3) - The Tigers had a little bit of everything in their first series with Erik Bakich as coach: a couple of routs, a late comeback, good pitching and good hitting in a sweep of Binghamton. Newcomer Cam Cannarella and returnees Chad Fairey and Benjamin Blackwell all hit .500. Blake Wright had a pair of homers on opening day. Clemson stole 17 bases as well. Ryan Ammons moved from the bullpen to a starting role and looked comfortable, striking out nine and allowing one run in five innings. Starters had an ERA of 1.23 and the staff mark was 2.00. Up next: at home against Charlotte, Tuesday.

* Korique Rainey of Morris had quite a week. He went 11-for-21 in five games with 2 doubles, a triple, 3 stolen bases, 4 runs scored and 7 RBI. In addition, the former South Florence High star struck out 10 in 5 innings in a pair of relief appearances. Up next for Morris:  at home against Columbia International, Wednesday.

* Florence-Darlington Tech (Last week: 4-0. Overall: 11-3. Streak: Won 7) - The Stingers' offense hasn't reached the level of the past couple of seasons, but the pitching has been solid, allowing eight total earned runs in four wins last week. Up next: at Brunswick CC, Wednesday.

* North Greenville (Last week: 3-0. Overall: 10-0. Streak: Won 10; 15 going back to last season) - Coach Landon Powell continues to play mix-and-match with his talented roster. Thirteen players have started five games or more. Marek Chlup (.591, 4, 10) and John Michael Faile (.350, 2, 13) are known quantities. Bryce Roddey (.348) has worked into an increased role in his second season and transfers David Lewis (Clemson, .469, 3, 11) and Jalen Vasquez (USC, .346) have fit right in as newcomers. Up next: at Emory & Henry, Tuesday.

* South Carolina (Last week: 3-0. Overall: 3-0. Streak: Won 3) - The Gamecocks looked like world-beaters against UMass Lowell, but most remaining opponents will be more talented. Still, Carolina has reason to feel good. It struggled against what was supposed to be lesser competition last season. Part of that was because of pitching injury problems; part of it wasn't. Junior Jack Mahoney returned after being unable to pitch in 2022 and struck out nine in 5 2/3 innings. That would suggest a solid weekend rotation. The 14 home runs put USC in the national lead. Offensive pacesetters included returnees Braylen Wimmer (.667) and Talmadge LeCroy (.600) and newcomers Will McGillis and Gavin Casas (3 HR each), who were brought in to add life to the offense. Up next: at home against Winthrop, Tuesday.

* The Citadel (Last week: 3-0. Overall: 3-0. Streak: Won 3) -  Coaches like to see their team keep plugging no matter what, so Tony Skole had to particularly enjoy the middle game of the weekend sweep of Delaware State. Down 4-0 in the bottom of the ninth, the Bulldogs scraped together a five-run rally to win in walk-off fashion. A .347 team batting average offset a 7.00 staff ERA nicely. Travis Lott is hitting .600, Dylan Costa is batting .556 and Thomas Rollauer has driven in seven runs. Pitchers have struck out 34 in 27 innings, but need to cut down on walks (20).  Up next: at home against Charleston Southern, Tuesday.

* Ryan Galanie, unfortunately, has almost nowhere to go but down after the first weekend of Wofford's season. He hit .818 (9-for-11) with an .846 OBP, a 1.273 slugging percentage and a 2.119 OPS. The senior from Mason, Ohio, was expected to be a team leader as the Terriers try to repeat as Southern Conference  regular-season champions. There's no criticizing his numbers so far. Up next for Wofford: at home against UNC Asheville, Tuesday.

* USC Aiken (Last week: 5-0. Overall: 8-2. Streak: Won 5) - The Pacers opened Peach Belt Conference  play with a road sweep of North Georgia. Luke Parker (.400, 10 RBI) has been an offensive leader, while Jacob Fletcher (2-0, 1.74) and Dylan Wilhelm (2 saves) have been sharp on the mound. Up next: at home against Embry-Riddle, Friday.

* USC Upstate (Last week: 3-0. Overall: 3-0. Streak: Won 3) - If you had told Spartans coach Mike McGuire last week that his club would had a .230 batting average after the weekend, he probably wouldn't have believed it if you had also told him Upstate would be unbeaten. The Spartans had a staff ERA of 1.33 and struck out 29 in 27 innings. Towson was held to a .194 batting average and four earned runs. Great pitching can compensate for a lot of other issues. Cole Caruso did his part for the offense, reaching base seven times and scoring five runs. Up next: at North Florida, Tuesday.

* Winthrop (Last week: 3-0. Overall: 3-0. Streak: Won 3) - The Eagles were raking the ball in their opening sweep of LIU Brooklyn, batting .376. Only one hitter with more than one plate appearance was hitting less than .250. The pitching was strong, too, as a 3.00 staff ERA and 33 strikeouts in 27 innings would attest. Up next: at South Carolina, Tuesday

Shiverin'

* Charleston Southern (Last week: 0-3. Overall: 0-3. Streak: Lost 3) - The Buccaneers opened their season at nationally ranked Florida and left Gainesville with few stats worth publicizing. CSU hit .097, going 7-for-72. Is that bad, you ask? Well, Wofford's Ryan Galanie (9) and USC's Braylen Wimmer (8) exceeded that three-game hit total by themselves. Two games ended in the seventh inning because of the 10-run rule instituted by the SEC for conference games (and available for nonconference games if coaches agree). Evan Truitt went against the norm, allow one earned run in 6 innings, but still getting a loss. Up next: at The Citadel, Tuesday.

* Claflin (Last week: 0-3. Overall: 0-6. Streak: Lost 6) - Last week was nothing to write home about for first-year coach Scott Nestor. The Panthers were outscored by Georgia Southwestern 67-7 in a Peach Belt Conference series, allowing 52 runs (20 unearned) in Saturday's doubleheader. Oh, and they were no-hit in the opener. Up next: at USC Beaufort, Friday.

* Southern Wesleyan (Last week: 0-3.  Overall: 2-8. Streak: Lost 8) - It's not been a good last couple of weeks for the Warriors, who haven't won since Feb. 4.  Opponents have scored in double figures the last four games and six overall. Meanwhile, SWU has scored more than four runs just once this season. Up next: at home against Limestone, Wednesday.