How to Follow the Series

Radio: 107.5 FM (Gamecock ISP Sports Network)
Web: Friday Live Stats, Saturday Live Stats, Sunday Live Stats
Television: Saturday's game will be televised on SportSouth and Sunday's game will be televised on ESPNU. 
All-Access: Listen to the live broadcast of all three games on GamecocksOnline.com with an All-Access package - available for just $9.95 per month. Click here to order.
Twitter: @GamecockBasebll

Series Numbers

-South Carolina leads the all-time series 28-24.
-The Gamecocks have won four consecutive series against Mississippi State in Columbia.
-The Bulldogs did take last year's series, winning two of three games in Starkville.

 Last Weekend

South Carolina vs. Auburn: Friday: 11-5 W; Saturday: 2-0 W; Sunday 10-6 L

Miss. State vs. Georgia: Friday: 9-8 W; Saturday: 4-7 L; Sunday: 11-10 W


Probable Starting Pitchers

Friday
South Carolina - Sr. RHP Blake Cooper: 4-0, 3.32 ERA, 38.0 IP, 15 BB, 37 SO
Miss. State - Fr. RHP Kendall Graveman: 1-1, 6.20 ERA, 24.2 IP, 14 BB, 9 SO

Saturday
South Carolina - Jr. RHP Sam Dyson: 2-0, 4.15 ERA, 30.1 IP, 6 BB, 36 SO
Miss. State - Fr. RHP Chris Stratton: 2-3, 3.48 ERA, 31.0 IP, 14 BB, 36 SO

Sunday
South Carolina - Sr. RHP Jay Brown: 1-0, 3.38 ERA, 16.0 IP, 8 BB, 17 SO
Miss. State - TBA

Team Notes & Numbers

-The Gamecocks are batting .302 as a team with a .970 fielding percentage and a 3.41 team ERA.
-The team has a .406 on-base percentage and has 54 doubles, six triples and 28 homers.
-South Carolina's pitching staff ranks third in the SEC with a 3.41 ERA and leads in the conference in strikeouts (263) and opposing batting average (.216). In SEC games, the team has a 3.06 ERA - good for best in the league.
-Senior Blake Cooper moved into 12th place on the South Carolina career win list last weekend, earning his 25th career victory with Friday's win over Auburn.
-Junior Whit Merrifield became the 23rd player in school history to record 200 or more hits last weekend. Merrifield has 204 career hits, 99 shy of all-time leader Mac White's 303. He needs just 27 hits to break into the Top 10.
-Merrifield has hit safely in 24 of 25 games this year and is batting .350 with five HR and 19 RBI. He is currently on a 12-game hitting streak.
-Junior Sam Dyson pitched seven scoreless innings last Saturday to help the Gamecock clinch the series with a 2-0 win. Dyson struck out nine batters and walked none. Relievers Michael Roth and Matt Price combined with Dyson to shut out the Tigers. It was the first time Auburn had not scored at home since March 1, 2005 (a span of 166 games).
-Junior Scott Wingo ranks fourth in the SEC with a .516 on-base percentage and is 11th with a .662 slugging percentage.

Quotes from Thursday's media session


"I don't look at any team in this league as a.500 team. Every team is really good and anybody can beat you. There's not a wide range of disparity between teams. We'll go into this weekend like any other weekend." -Coach Tanner

"Jay has been one of those guys who has sort of been "that guy" when we've had some issues. He's gone into the game to keep it in check. He's been maybe one of the unsung heroes for us. I felt like Jay should get the opportunity to start based on the contribution he's made." Tanner on Jay Brown getting the Sunday start (his first of the season)

"I've had a hard time recently putting together the middle of the order. I've tried to do some match-ups based on last couple of games and last couple of practices. The good news is that I've got some choices to make. I'm not sure what our best lineup is." -Tanner on the changing lineups

"I don't think that I've ever had as many lineups as I've had to this point through 25 games. I like having a pretty consistent lineup. The middle of our order is where our changes have been coming and that's a bit of a concern. We're getting some quality years from the guys at the top and the bottom. The middle of the order is really where the gaps have been and that's led to the different lineups." Tanner

"For many years, I've said you better play every game like it's the last one. You never know when you're playing "that game." As I explain to our players, you're going to win some games and you're going to lose some games, but what do you do with the others that you play?  I always stress you have to play with heightened awareness. It's got to be a very important game. You can't look back and say "woulda, coulda, shoulda." They're all the same. They all count." - Tanner

"It's exciting. As the season has gone on, I've told him I've been willing to throw whenever. I'm excited to throw Sunday." - Jay Brown on getting the Sunday start

"I try not to ride the rollercoaster. Baseball is a game of failures and so you can't get too high when you're throwing well and you can't get too low when you're not throwing as well. You try to stay level-headed and go from there." - Brown on the pressure of being the Sunday starter

"You have to throw like you know how to throw. You have to know the gameplan and throw strikes. I don't think you can approach an SEC team differently from a mid-week team because against any player in Division I, if you make a mistake, you're going to pay." - Brown


What's Happening in the SEC This Weekend

-Alabama (17-7, 2-4) @ Auburn (17-8, 4-2)

-Vanderbilt (23-4, 4-2) @ Florida (18-6, 4-2)

-Tennessee (13-13, 0-6) @ Ole Miss (20-6, 4-2)

-Kentucky (17-9, 1-5) @ Arkansas (20-5, 4-2)

-Georgia (9-15, 1-5) @ LSU (21-3, 5-1)