2010 South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team

2010 South Carolina Gamecocks baseball
Columbia Regional Champions Myrtle Beach Super Regional Champions
College World Series Champions vs. UCLA, W 2–0
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
CB	No. 1
2010 record	54–16 (21–9 SEC)
Head coach	Ray Tanner (14th season)
Assistant coaches	Chad Holbrook (2nd season) Mark Calvi (6th season) Sammy Esposito (3rd season)
Home stadium	Carolina Stadium
Seasons ← 2009 2011 →

2010 Southeastern Conference baseball standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Eastern
No. 7 Florida x‍†‍‍y	22	–	8		.733			47	–	17		.734
No. 1 South Carolina ‍‍‍y	21	–	9		.700			54	–	16		.771
No. 14 Vanderbilt ‍‍‍y	16	–	12		.571			46	–	20		.697
Kentucky  ‍‍‍	13	–	17		.433			31	–	25		.554
Tennessee  ‍‍‍	12	–	18		.400			30	–	26		.536
Georgia  ‍‍‍	5	–	23		.179			16	–	37		.302
Western
No. 19 Auburn x‍‍‍y	20	–	10		.667			43	–	21		.672
No. 13 Arkansas ‍‍‍y	18	–	12		.600			43	–	21		.672
Ole Miss ‍‍‍y	16	–	14		.533			39	–	24		.619
No. 16 Alabama ‍‍‍y	15	–	15		.500			42	–	25		.627
LSU ‍‍‡‍y	14	–	16		.467			41	–	22		.651
Mississippi State  ‍‍‍	6	–	24		.200			23	–	33		.411
x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 29, 2010; Rankings from Baseball America

The 2010 South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2010 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Gamecocks played their home games in Carolina Stadium. The team was coached by Ray Tanner, who was in his fourteenth season at Carolina.

USC finished second in the Southeastern Conference regular season standings, and received an at-large bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. The Gamecocks were designated the #1 seed and host of the Columbia Regional. Carolina went 3–0 in their Regional to advance to the Super Regionals. The Gamecocks beat Coastal Carolina in two games to win the Myrtle Beach Super Regional and advance to the 2010 College World Series. After losing the opener, the Gamecocks won their next six games to win the national championship, defeating UCLA in the CWS Championship Series in consecutive games, 7–1 and 2–1.^[1]

Regular season[]

The Gamecocks won their first seven SEC series of the 2010 season, which continued a streak of ten straight dating back to the end of the 2009 season. Another carryover streak was that of Whit Merrifield, who set a USC record when he hit safely in his 26th game in a row during the March 10 contest against Valparaiso. Another school record was tied in that game, as Gamecock pitchers combined to strike out 18 batters. Scott Wingo set a USC record on March 13 when he was hit by a pitch for the 35th time in his college career.

Carolina lost the annual series against archrival Clemson for the first time since 2006 by losing two of three games against the Tigers. The March 6 game at Fluor Field was the first game between both schools at that stadium and the first game played in Greenville since the 1990 season.

Head Coach Ray Tanner recorded his 600th victory at USC with a 10–1 win over The Citadel on March 30, and his 1,000th career victory with a 2–0 win over Vanderbilt on April 11.

Overall, Carolina played nine schools that would eventually make the 2010 NCAA Tournament (Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, The Citadel, Clemson, College of Charleston, Florida, Mississippi, Vanderbilt). The Gamecocks compiled a 16–8 record against these schools. USC finished the regular season a perfect 15–0 in their midweek games.

Postseason[]

SEC Tournament[]

Carolina entered the SEC Tournament as the #3 seed by virtue of finishing second in the Eastern Division (Florida claimed the #1 seed by winning the SEC regular season championship and Auburn claimed the #2 seed by finishing first in the Western Division). The Gamecocks would lose their first two games against Ole Miss and Auburn (both were teams that the Gamecocks won series against in the regular season) being eliminated from the tournament without posting a victory.

NCAA tournament[]

Carolina was awarded the #1 seed in the Columbia Regional of the 2010 NCAA tournament. On June 4, the Gamecocks opened regional play with #4 seed Bucknell. USC trailed 5–1 before rallying for five runs in the eighth inning, going on to defeat the Bison, 9–5.^[2] On June 5, Carolina would face #3 seed in-state foe, The Citadel, whom the Gamecocks had defeated twice during the regular season. Facing Bulldog ace and MLB first-round draft pick Asher Wojciechowski, USC would again come from behind, scoring five in the seventh and another two in the ninth to overcome a 4–2 deficit for the 9–4 victory, riding Blake Cooper's career-high 12 strikeouts.^[3] On June 6, Carolina squared off against #2 seed Virginia Tech, and scored six in the sixth to defeat the Hokies, 10–2, to sweep the Columbia Regional Championship and advance to the Super Regionals.^[4]

The Gamecocks were sent on the road to the Myrtle Beach Super Regional to face #4 national seed Coastal Carolina. On June 12, Carolina defeated Coastal, 4–3, behind four early runs and another quality start by staff ace Blake Cooper.^[5] On June 13, the Gamecocks again found themselves needing to come from behind in the late-innings. Trailing the Chanticleers 9–7 in the eighth, freshman first-baseman Christian Walker became an instant hero with a 3-run blast that led to a 10–9 victory and ninth trip to Omaha for South Carolina.^[6]

College World Series[]

By virtue of their Super Regional sweep of Coastal Carolina, South Carolina joined Arizona State, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma, TCU, and UCLA in the 2010 College World Series. Before this year's appearance, South Carolina had a 17–16 record in the CWS, with runner-up finishes in 1975, 1977 and 2002. On June 20, the Gamecocks lost their opener to Oklahoma, 4–3, in a game that was played over nine hours due to two lengthy delays for rain and lightning.^[7] Playing out of the losers' bracket with no margin for error, Carolina drubbed #1 national seed Arizona State 11–4 on June 22, scoring eight runs in the second inning to send the Sun Devils home.^[8] On June 24, the Gamecocks eliminated Oklahoma behind more late-inning heroics. Trailing 2–1 and down to their last strike in the 12th inning, Jackie Bradley, Jr. singled home the tying run and following a walk to pinch-hitter Jeffery Jones, Brady Thomas lined the first pitch he saw up the middle for a walk-off RBI single.^[9] In a repeat of the 2002 CWS, Carolina found themselves in the position of having to beat Clemson twice in order to advance to the Championship Series. On June 25, Michael Roth made his first pitching start in over a year for the Gamecocks, and shut down the red-hot bats of the Tigers with a three-hit, complete-game performance in a dominating 5–1 victory.^[10] The following evening saw a rematch of the archrivals, with Carolina defeating Clemson, 4–3, and moving on to face UCLA in the CWS Finals.^[11] The Gamecocks and the Bruins were both playing for the first baseball national championship for either school, and Carolina put themselves in the driver's seat as they cruised to a 7–1 victory in the first game of the series.^[12] Game 2 would turn out to be the last CWS game ever played in historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, and it was one for the ages. The Gamecocks and Bruins were locked in a pitchers' duel, and UCLA held a 1–0 lead until the bottom of the eighth when Carolina tied things up. The respective closers for the two teams would continue the pitching battle for another three innings, until the bottom of the 11th when Scott Wingo drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a passed ball and was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. With one out, UCLA decided to pitch to Whit Merrifield, who lined a 2–0 pitch into right field to bring home the winning run.^[13]

Personnel[]

Roster[]

2010 South Carolina Gamecocks roster
	Pitchers 9 Steven Neff – Sophomore 12 Jimmy Revan – Sophomore 14 John Taylor – Junior 15 Nolan Belcher – Sophomore 17 Jose Mata – Junior 20 Sam Dyson – Junior 21 Greg Harrison – Freshman 22 Matt Price – Freshman 25 Adam Westmoreland – Sophomore 27 Blake Cooper – Senior 29 Michael Roth – Sophomore 32 Ethan Carter – Freshman 33 Alex Burrell – Sophomore 34 Jordan Propst – Senior 35 Logan Munson – Junior 37 Jay Brown – Senior 38 Tyler Webb – Freshman 39 Patrick Sullivan – Freshman 44 Colby Holmes – Freshman		Infielders 3 Adrian Morales – Junior 6 Jeffery Jones – Senior 8 Scott Wingo – Junior 10 Anthony Iacomini – Freshman 13 Christian Walker – Freshman 23 Bobby Haney – Senior 47 Nick Ebert – Senior Catchers 7 Richard Royal – Sophomore 18 Kyle Enders – Senior 24 Brison Celek – Freshman 36 Brady Thomas – Senior		Outfielders 5 Whit Merrifield – Junior 16 Austin Ashmore – Freshman 19 Jackie Bradley, Jr. – Sophomore 26 Adam Matthews – Sophomore 31 Evan Marzilli – Freshman 40 Jake Williams – Junior Utility 4 Robert Beary – Junior 42 Parker Bangs – Junior

2010 South Carolina Gamecocks Baseball Roster & Bios http://gamecocksonline.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/scar-m-basebl-mtt.html

Coaching staff[]

2010 South Carolina Gamecocks baseball coaching staff
1 Ray Tanner – Head Coach – 14 years 2 Chad Holbrook – Assistant Coach – 2 years 48 Mark Calvi – Assistant Coach – 6 years 41 Sammy Esposito – Assistant Coach – 3 years

2010 South Carolina Gamecocks Baseball Coaches & Bios http://gamecocksonline.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/scar-m-basebl-mtt.html#coaches

Schedule[]

2010 South Carolina Gamecocks Baseball Game Log
Regular Season (43–13)
February (4–2) # Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record SEC Record 1 February 19 Duquesne Carolina Stadium 10–3 Cooper (1–0) Elms (0–1) None 6,380 1–0 – 2 February 20 Duquesne Carolina Stadium 13–3 Dyson (1–0) Gillespie (0–1) None 7,926 2–0 – 3 February 21 Duquesne Carolina Stadium 5–3 Neff (1–0) Heck (0–1) None 6,910 3–0 – 4 February 26 @East Carolina Clark-LeClair Stadium 6–2 Cooper (2–0) Maness (0–2) Taylor (1) 3,214 4–0 – 5 February 27 @East Carolina Clark-LeClair Stadium 3–4 Simmons (1–0) Taylor (0–1) None 4,461 4–1 – 6 February 28 @East Carolina Clark-LeClair Stadium 2–4 Mincey (1–1) Neff (1–1) Simmons (1) 3,743 4–2 –
March (16–3) # Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record SEC Record 7 March 3 Presbyterian Carolina Stadium 15–0 Belcher (1–0) Harmon (0–1) None 5,217 5–2 – 8 March 5 @Clemson Doug Kingsmore Stadium 3–4 Haselden (2–0) Roth (0–1) None 6,346 5–3 �� 9 March 6 vs. Clemson Fluor Field 7–5 Price (1–0) Cruz (1–1) Roth (1) 7,105 6–3 – 10 March 7 Clemson Carolina Stadium 6–19 Weismann (2–0) Webb (0–1) None 8,214 6–4 – 11 March 9 Valparaiso Carolina Stadium 12–4 Mata (1–0) Shafer (1–1) None 5,295 7–4 – 12 March 10 Valparaiso Carolina Stadium 7–3 Price (2–0) Robinson (0–4) None 4,902 8–4 – 13 March 13 Brown Carolina Stadium 8–4 Cooper (3–0) Gormley (0–1) None 5,053 9–4 – 14 March 13 Brown Carolina Stadium 10–7 Brown (1–0) Weidig (0–2) Roth (2) 5,250 10–4 – 15 March 14 Brown Carolina Stadium 6–510 Revan (1–0) Kimball (0–1) None 5,307 11–4 – 16 March 16 @Furman Fluor Field 15–0 Belcher (2–0) Benton (0–4) None 3,256 12–4 – 17 March 17 Davidson Carolina Stadium 8–3 Mata (2–0) Lamb (1–3) None 5,054 13–4 – 18 March 19 Tennessee Carolina Stadium 4–2 Carter (1–0) Locante (1–1) None 6,211 14–4 1–0 19 March 20 Tennessee Carolina Stadium 10–7 Bangs (1–0) Steckenrider (0–1) None 7,813 15–4 2–0 20 March 21 Tennessee Carolina Stadium 4–0 Webb (1–1) McCray (2–2) Price (1) 5,629 16–4 3–0 21 March 23 @Georgia Southern J. I. Clements Stadium 8–513 Taylor (1–1) Snow (0–1) None 2,022 17–4 – 22 March 26 @Auburn Plainsman Park 11–5 Cooper (4–0) Luckie (1–1) None 3,458 18–4 4–0 23 March 27 @Auburn Plainsman Park 2–0 Dyson (2–0) Nelson (4–1) Price (2) 2,970 19–4 5–0 24 March 28 @Auburn Plainsman Park 6–10 Dayton (3–1) Webb (1–2) None 2,316 19–5 5–1 25 March 30 The Citadel Carolina Stadium 10–1 Holmes (1–0) Clarkson (1–2) None 6,451 20–5 –
April (13–3) # Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record SEC Record 26 April 2 Mississippi State Carolina Stadium 10–2 Cooper (5–0) Graveman (1–2) None 7,019 21–5 6–1 27 April 3 Mississippi State Carolina Stadium 7–8 Stratton (3–3) Dyson (2–1) Bracewell (4) 7,012 21–6 6–2 28 April 4 Mississippi State Carolina Stadium 14–2 Price (3–0) Whitney (0–1) None 5,576 22–6 7–2 29 April 7 College of Charleston Carolina Stadium 6–3 Holmes (2–0) Zokan (2–1) Roth (3) 7,523 23–6 – 30 April 9 @Vanderbilt Hawkins Field 3–2 Cooper (6–0) Gray (4–4) Price (3) 2,853 24–6 8–2 31 April 10 @Vanderbilt Hawkins Field 2–8 Armstrong (5–0) Dyson (2–2) None 3,197 24–7 8–3 32 April 11 @Vanderbilt Hawkins Field 2–0 Brown (2–0) Hill (3–3) Price (4) 2,328 25–7 9–3 33 April 14 @The Citadel Joe Riley Park 10–4 Taylor (2–1) Pritcher (2–2) None 4,087 26–7 – 34 April 16 Ole Miss Carolina Stadium 5–0 Cooper (7–0) Rothlin (3–4) None 7,094 27–7 10–3 35 April 17 Ole Miss Carolina Stadium 9–5 Dyson (3–2) Barrett (6–2) Carter (1) 7,952 28–7 11–3 36 April 18 Ole Miss Carolina Stadium 4–5 Tracy (2–2) Taylor (2–2) Huber (4) 7,585 28–8 11–4 37 April 20 South Carolina Upstate Carolina Stadium 4–2 Mata (3–0) Bumgardner (0–5) Carter (2) 6,409 29–8 – 38 April 23 @Georgia Foley Field 11–4 Cooper (8–0) Grimm (2–6) None 2,642 30–8 12–4 39 April 25 @Georgia Foley Field 5–0 Dyson (4–2) Walters (1–4) None 3,169 31–8 13–4 40 April 25 @Georgia Foley Field 8–7 Carter (2–0) Moseley (0–2) None 3,169 32–8 14–4 41 April 30 Alabama Carolina Stadium 9–711 Mata (4–0) Kilcrease (3–2) None 8,145 33–8 15–4
May (10–5) # Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record SEC Record 42 May 1 Alabama Carolina Stadium 4–6 Morgan (5–2) Dyson (4–3) Smith (2) 8,053 33–9 15–5 43 May 2 Alabama Carolina Stadium 20–15 Webb (2–2) Wolfe (3–2) None 8,006 34–9 16–5 44 May 5 Winthrop Carolina Stadium 5–1 Mata (5–0) Monteith (0–2) None 6,014 35–9 – 45 May 7 @Kentucky Cliff Hagan Stadium 13–9 Cooper (9–0) Rogers (4–7) Price (5) 2,183 36–9 17–5 46 May 8 @Kentucky Cliff Hagan Stadium 1–2 Cooper (3–4) Dyson (4–4) Little (7) 1,755 36–10 17–6 47 May 9 @Kentucky Cliff Hagan Stadium 3–9 Meyer (5–2) Mata (5–1) Kapteyn (2) 1,702 36–11 17–7 48 May 11 Wofford Carolina Stadium 17–4 Belcher (3–0) Collins (1–2) None 6,402 37–11 – 49 May 12 Charleston Southern Carolina Stadium 10–2 Mata (6–1) McCready (0–6) None 6,573 38–11 – 50 May 14 @Arkansas Baum Stadium 3–2 Cooper (10–0) Smyly (7–1) Price (6) 9,622 39–11 18–7 51 May 15 @Arkansas Baum Stadium 5–0 Dyson (5–4) Bolsinger (5–3) None 8,670 40–11 19–7 52 May 16 @Arkansas Baum Stadium 5–3 Taylor (3–2) Pratt (3–1) Price (7) 8,227 41–11 20–7 53 May 18 Furman Carolina Stadium 11–6 Neff (2–1) Karow (0–2) None 6,291 42–11 – 54 May 20 Florida Carolina Stadium 2–3 Barfield (4–0) Cooper (10–1) Chapman (9) 8,188 42–12 20–8 55 May 21 Florida Carolina Stadium 2–5 Rodriguez (1–0) Dyson (5–5) Chapman (10) 8,242 42–13 20–9 56 May 22 Florida Carolina Stadium 11–6 Brown (3–0) Johnson (5–3) None 7,523 43–13 21–9
Post-Season
SEC Tournament (0–2) # Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record SECT Record 57 May 26 Ole Miss Regions Park 0–3 Pomeranz (8–2) Belcher (3–1) Huber (11) 12,514 43–14 0–1 58 May 27 Auburn Regions Park 1–312 Hubbard (5–2) Price (3–1) None 5,759 43–15 0–2
NCAA Regionals (3–0) # Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record NCAAT Record 59 June 4 Bucknell Carolina Stadium 9–5 Roth (1–1) Carlin (3–6) None 6,712 44–15 1–0 60 June 5 The Citadel Carolina Stadium 9–4 Cooper (11–1) Wojciechowski (12–3) Price (8) 7,418 45–15 2–0 61 June 6 Virginia Tech Carolina Stadium 10–2 Mata (7–1) Price (7–4) None 6,233 46–15 3–0
NCAA Super Regionals (2–0) # Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record NCAAT Record 62 June 12 Coastal Carolina BB&T Coastal Field 4–3 Cooper (12–1) Rein (7–1) Price (9) 6,599 47–15 4–0 63 June 13 Coastal Carolina BB&T Coastal Field 10–9 Carter (3–0) Fleet (6–2) Price (10) 6,599 48–15 5–0
College World Series (6–1) # Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record NCAAT Record 64 June 20 Oklahoma Rosenblatt Stadium 3–4 Rocha (8–2) Cooper (12–2) None 22,835 48–16 5–1 65 June 22 Arizona State Rosenblatt Stadium 11–4 Dyson (6–5) Kelly (10–3) None 19,936 49–16 6–1 66 June 24 Oklahoma Rosenblatt Stadium 3–212 Webb (3–2) Duke (3–2) None 24,180 50–16 7–1 67 June 25 Clemson Rosenblatt Stadium 5–1 Roth (2–1) Leone (3–2) None 22,334 51–16 8–1 68 June 26 Clemson Rosenblatt Stadium 4–3 Price (4–1) Harman (8–4) None 12,593 52–16 9–1 69 June 28 UCLA Rosenblatt Stadium 7–1 Cooper (13–2) Cole (11–4) None 23,181 53–16 10–1 70 June 29 UCLA Rosenblatt Stadium 2–1 11 Price (5–1) Klein (6–1) None 24,390 54–16 11–1

2010 South Carolina Gamecocks Baseball Schedule http://gamecocksonline.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/sched/scar-m-basebl-sched.html

Honors and awards[]

• Tyler Webb was named SEC Freshman of the Week on March 22.^[14]
• Jay Brown was named SEC Pitcher of the Week on April 12.^[15]
• Blake Cooper was named SEC Pitcher of the Week on April 19.^[16]
• Sam Dyson was named SEC Pitcher of the Week on April 26 and on May 17.^[17][18]
• South Carolina was named Team of the Week on May 18 by CollegeBaseballInsider.com.^[19]
• Head coach Ray Tanner was named the National Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America.^[20][21]
• Pitcher Blake Cooper was named third-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball.^[22]
• Pitcher Matt Price (first team) and first baseman Christian Walker (second team) were named Freshman All-Americans by Baseball America.^[23]
• Blake Cooper (P), Jackie Bradley, Jr. (OF), Kyle Enders (C), Evan Marzilli (OF) and Brady Thomas (DH) were named to the Columbia Regional All-Tournament Team.
• Adrian Morales was named Most Outstanding Player of the Columbia Regional.
• South Carolina received the CWS Opening Ceremonies award for highest team GPA (3.12) of the eight schools that made it to Omaha.
• Evan Marzilli (OF), Brady Thomas (DH) and Christian Walker (1B) were named to the College World Series All-Tournament Team.
• Jackie Bradley, Jr. was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2010 College World Series.

Rankings[]

Ranking Movement

Poll	Pre- season	Feb. 22	Mar. 1	Mar. 8	Mar. 15	Mar. 22	Mar. 29	Apr. 5	Apr. 12	Apr. 19	Apr. 26	May 3	May 10	May 17	May 24	May 31	June 7	June 14	Final Poll
USA Today/ESPN Coaches' (Top 25)[24]	NR	–	23	NR	NR	23	19	17	13	10	8	7	12	7	9	11	–	–	1
Baseball America (Top 25)[25]	10	10	15	19	16	14	12	11	10	10	7	6	8	6	10	12	–	–	1
Collegiate Baseball (Top 30)[26]	28	23	22	23	23	18	14	8	5	5	3	4	7	6	7	8	9	5	1
NCBWA (Top 30)[27]	21	18	24	28	24	21	19	16	13	14	13	11	13	9	10	13	–	5	1
Rivals.com (Top 25)[28]	13	12	13	20	20	16	12	12	9	9	7	5	9	6	7	9	–	–	1

• NR = Not Ranked

Gamecocks in the 2010 MLB Draft[]

The following members of the South Carolina Gamecocks baseball program were drafted in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall	MLB Team
Sam Dyson	RHP	4th	126th	Toronto Blue Jays
Whit Merrifield	OF	9th	269th	Kansas City Royals
Blake Cooper	RHP	12th	361st	Arizona Diamondbacks
Bobby Haney	SS	22nd	678th	San Francisco Giants
Steven Neff	LHP	23rd	689th	Kansas City Royals
Parker Bangs	RHP	31st	929th	Kansas City Royals
Jordan Propst	RHP	49th	1469th	Kansas City Royals

References[]