Notes and Quotes: UGA Game 1

Schmidt dazzles in 3-1 win | Box Score

--There was a relatively large South Carolina contingent along the third base line.

--Georgia’s starter Robert Tyler (3-2, 2.78 ERA) hit 99 mph on his fastball in the first inning Friday.

--Georgia’s students were wearing “Beat South Carolina” shirts that were given to them by the athletic department.

--Gene Cone singled in the third inning, bringing his hitting streak to 21 games. He’s also reached base in 24 straight games.

--Other hitting streaks continued Friday: Jonah Bride (5 games), Chris Cullen (2 games) and LT Tolbert (2 games).

--Georgia’s Daniel Nichols hit a one-run homer in the fourth inning. Georgia’s last 15 home runs have been solo home runs.

--Announced attendance was 2,572.

--John Jones went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. Holbrook said he’s riding the “struggle bus” but they hope to get him off soon.

--Clarke Schmidt earned his team leading eighth win of the season. He also extended his team leading strikeout total to 80.

--The away win puts the Gamecocks at 7-3 on the road this season and 23-1 when scoring first.

--DC Arendas had eight assists Friday, which is the most by a Gamecock all season.

--Chris Cullen drove in the first run of the game on a two-out single. Eleven of his 19 RBIs have come with two outs.

Quotes

Chris Cullen on catching a complete game: “Catching a complete game is tough on the body…But you really don’t think about it too much. I’ll feel it in the morning but I’ll be ready to go.”

Chris Cullen on bouncing back: “After Wednesday night’s game it was nice for us to come out with heightened awareness and some fire. There’s no easy game in the SEC but being able to come out scoring right away, Clarke pitched a heck of a game. Being able to do that and set the tone for the weekend is huge for us.”

Clarke Schmidt on Gene Cone’s catch in the seventh: “At first I hoped it stayed in but I thought, ‘Oh my gosh.’ Then he made the turnaround and saved me. I asked him when he came in and he said it was gone. So I think he ended up keeping me in the game.”

Clarke Schmidt on his 10-strikeout game: “I felt like when I put a lot of life in my fastball in the offseason, sharpened up my breaking ball, you know the strikeouts are going to come. You just have to keep throwing strikes.

Holbrook on deciding to leave Schmidt in: “This one I didn’t know what to do. I was torn. We ended up playing the numbers. The kid was splits and has a higher batting average against lefties than righties. So we played the numbers. If there’s one thing the old little guy taught me was when in doubt, play the numbers.”

Holbrook on John Jones’s slump: “Hitting’s hard, and sometimes when you get in a rut you lose some confidence. And he’s lost some confidence. But heck, he made contact the last time and we’ll take baby steps and he’ll bang on out of here and all will be forgotten.”