Former South Carolina INF Whit Merrifield called up by Kansas City Royals

UPDATE: Couple of reports out there. Merrifield's sister, Costner, tweeted the news earlier, but the Royals are reporting that they have called up a pitcher. Stay tuned. UPDATE 2: Confirmed by the Royals.

Whit Merrifield will be getting his shot in the big leagues.

The Kansas City Royals, last year's World Series champions, are set to play a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox today. As as result, Merrifield has been called up from the Royals' Triple-A affiliate in Omaha and will be on the roster for the second game of the twinbill. Since the team is allowed 26 players for doubleheaders, it's likely this will be a brief spell for the 27-year old.

Merrifield was selected by the Royals in the 9th round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Players Draft following a junior season in which he hit .321 with 13 home runs and 42 RBI - helping the Gamecocks to the first of two straight College World Series titles. For his career in garnet and black, Merrifield appeared in 195 games, hitting .331 with 27 homers, 117 RBI and 263 hits. He was also a steady hand in the infield, committing just 13 errors in his three-year tenure. Thus far in 2016 with Omaha, he is hitting .278 with five homers and 17 RBI in 36 games. Of course, he'll always be remembered for this little moment that occured in what turned out to be his final collegiate game.

Merrifield would join four other Gamecocks currently in the big leagues - Boston's Jackie Bradley Jr., Texas's Sam Dyson, Tampa Bay's Steve Pearce, and Toronto's Justin Smoak.