clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

First Base // 03.24.09


Fb1_medium

Okay, now it's getting a bit old. Fresh off a 1-2 start against Mississippi State, the Gamecocks go 1-2 against LSU.

There's not necessarily any shame in that -- LSU is, after all, a very good baseball team, ranked in the Top 3 at the beginning of the season for good reason. Getting outscored 24-13, including allowing double-digit runs in two games, is a different story.

The Gamecocks have, to this point, won two games in the SEC, which also happen to be the only games in which they have allowed the other team to score fewer than 10 runs. If this pitching staff is going to average giving up 10 runs twice a weekend, it's going to be a long, long year.

The offense is not entirely blameless, to be sure. Seven runs in the first game was a good start. Three runs in each of the next two match-ups guaranteed a poor outcome.

If only the schedule were to let up a bit ...

No such luck. This weekend, it's Kentucky, a decent team in the SEC East, followed by Arkansas and Mississippi, two of the best teams in the league right now.

So either the pitching improves and bats start hitting, or the Gamecocks will be 5-10 rather quickly. And there's no digging out of a hole that big.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
SAM DYSON, winner of the only victory against LSU this weekend. Seven innings, one run, two hits -- a quality start for South Carolina's second league victory. Overall, Dyson is 3-1, 2.73 ERA, .167 BAA.

STAT OF THE WEEK
51
The number of runs the Gamecocks have allowed in six SEC games, an average of 8.5 per game.

THE SLATE
Tuesday: at College of Charleston, 7 p.m. ET
Wednesday: vs. Georgia Southern, 7 p.m. ET
Weekend: at Kentucky, 6:30 p.m. ET Friday; 1 p.m. ET Saurday; 1 p.m. ET Sunday