Who's hot; who's not: Feb. 27

(Through Sunday)

Sizzlin'

* Ryan Ammons, Clemson - The redshirt-junior left-hander was the Tigers' closer last season asa sophomore. In 25 appearances he had a 1-2 record, 8 saves, a 4.61 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings. New coach Erik Bakich opted to give Ammons a shot at starting and the Wren High product hasn't disappointed. He has a 1-0 record, a 2.70 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 10 innings. He's gone five innings in each start. If the rotation isn't changed, his next start is expected to be against South Carolina on Friday. Up next for Clemson: USC Upstate at Fluor Field in Greenville, Tuesday. 

* Florence-Darlington Tech (Last week: 4-0. Overall: 15-3. Streak: Won 11) -  Up next: at Fayetteville Tech, Wednesday. 

* Korique Rainey, Morris - I promise I am not this young's press agent; he just puts up impressive numbers. He had four hits and drove in five runs in last week's sweep of Voorhees. He also came in to pitch in Game 1 and held the Tigers at bay until Morris rallied for a walk-off win. Stats are spotty, but my research indicates he has an eight-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 10 of 11 games. He's also made at least four appearances as pitcher. Up next for Morris: at St. Andrews, Wednesday.

* Newberry (Last week: 5-0. Overall: 12-3. Streak: Won 6) - Because of Friday's game being suspended, the Wolves got three wins last Saturday en route to a four- series sweep of Indiana (Pa.).  Donovan Ford was a big reason. He was 13-for-19, scored six runs, drove in five and stole seven bases. The sophomore out of Greenville is batting .475 with 18 steals in 15 games. Up next:  at Limestone, Friday.

* Presbyterian (Last week: 4-0. Overall: 5-2. Streak: Won 4) - It's easy to see one of the main reasons the Blue Hose are streaking - pitching. PC has a 3.47 staff ERA and a 4 1/2 to 1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Up next: at Georgia, Tuesday.

* South Carolina (Last week: 6-0. Overall: 8-0. Streak: Won 8) - Sometimes, when you live by the home run you die by the home run - or lack of such. The Gamecocks had hit 20 homers entering the weekend series with Penn.  The Quakers found a way to keep Carolina hitters in the park, and things were much tighter. A homer by freshman Ethan Petry was the only scoring on Saturday. On Sunday, USC struggled to get any kind of hit in key situations and was down 5-4 in the eighth inning - because of a Penn homer. Back-to-back homers put the Gamecocks on the path to victory and helped them overcome 19 runners left on base. Up next: North Carolina A&T at home, Tuesday.

* Spartanburg Methodist (Last week: 4-0. Overall: 10-6. Streak: Won 4) - Dutch Fork High product Blake Martin has raised his batting average to .531 with a six-game hitting streak (11-for-19). Up next: at Catawba Valley, Wednesday.

* Cam Dimidjian, USC Beaufort - How do you improve on perfection? The sophomore lefty from Jefferson Hills, Pa. threw a seven-inning perfect game against Claflin on Saturday, helping the Sand Sharks get their first-ever Peach Belt Conference series sweep. Dimidjian struck out out eight as he lowered his ERA to 1.04. He has struck out 21 in 17 1/3 innings. Up next for USCB: Middle Georgia at home, Tuesday.

* USC Lancaster (Last week: 5-0. Overall: 12-2. Streak: Won 5) - The Lancers had a weekend pitching coaches usually can only dream of. They won three games over Rockingham CC by shutout and allowed only one run in the fourth. There were 39 strikeouts in 28 innings compared to 17 hits and 6 walks. Up next: at Southeastern CC. Wednesday.

* Wofford (Last week: 4-0. Overall: 6-1: Streak: Won 6) - Wofford stumbled out of the chute this season, allowing seven runs in the first two innings and never catching up in a loss to Southern Illinois. The Terriers quickly regained their stride and haven't lost since. Ryan Galanie (.560) and Brice Martinez (.476) are major factors in a .294 team batting average. Terriers pitchers have struck out 69 while allowing seven walks in 63 innings. Up next. Up next: Winthrop at home, Tuesday.

Shiverin'

* Bob Jones (Last week: 0-4. Overall: 2-6. Streak: Lost 5) - The Bruins were over .500 for the first time in program history a couple of weeks ago, but have lost five straight since then. The staff ERA is 9.61. Throw in 36 walks and 10 homers allowed in 59 innings and it's clear a .261 team batting average isn't enough to compensate. Gaffney native Riley Ramsey has been a outlier on offense, hitting .375. Close behind is Zach Burk, who is batting .345 with 12 RBI in eight games./ Up next: Truett-McConnell at home, Tuesday.

 * Claflin (Last week: 0-3. Overall: 0-9. Streak: Lost 9) - The Panthers have struggled in the Peach Belt Conference ever since they joined. The season has been no different so far. Claflin has been no-hit twice (one was a perfect game) and has a .150 team batting average. The staff ERA is 14.34, and it would be higher but for 25 unearned runs in nine games. Claflin has scored 16 runs this season, a total opponents have exceeded three times in a game. Truly, there is almost nowhere to go but up. Up next: Voorhees at home, Tuesday.

* USC Salkehatchie (Last week: 0-6. Overall: 1-13. Streak: Lost 9) - Much like Claflin, USC Salkehatchie has found the going rough in recent seasons.  Coach Jeremy Joye said in a  Tweet over the weekend that's like the attitude he's seen from the squad despite the struggles. Up next:  at South Georgia, Tuesday.