Notes and Quotes: USC-Penn State Game 1

Notes and Quotes from South Carolina's 7-1 victory over Penn State on Friday at Founders Park:

--South Carolina starting pitchers have been dominant so far this season. They have allowed 13 hits, five runs (four earned) in 33 innings pitched. They have also walked 10 batters while striking out 44. Their average batting average against is .123.

--John Jones continues his hot streak. He’s played both catcher (2 games) and designated hitter (4 games). As catcher he’s 1-for-6 with three RBIs while 11-for-17 with two home runs and 10 RBIs at DH.

--TJ Hopkins earned his fifth start in six games. He has the second-most starts by an outfielder this season behind Dom-Thompson Williams, who’s started all six games.

--The Gamecocks committed one error in game 1 against Penn State. It’s their second straight game with an error after not having an error through the first four games.

--Chris Cullen doubled in the second inning to push his hitting streak to four games. It’s the longest streak this season by anyone on the team.

--Jonah Bride was hit by a pitch for the seventh time in six games. The school record for times hit by pitch is 21, which happened to Brandon Walters in 1996.

--All nine of South Carolina’s starters had a hit against Penn State. Seven of Friday’s nine starters (Hopkins, Dom Thompson-Williams, Jones, Bride, Tolbert, Cullen and Mooney) are hitting above .300 with Jones hitting above .500.

--Colie Bowers recorded his first career strikeout against the Nittany Lions, striking out six of the eight batters he faced. All six of the outs he recorded were punch-outs.

*** Also see: Photo gallery by Paul Collins ***

Quotes

Chad Holbrook on LT Tolbert: “He can play all over the place, and that’s just how it’s going to be…LT is comfortable wherever I put him on the field. He can play a number of positions.”

Holbrook on Clarke Schmidt: “He was pretty flawless for the most part. He was just sharp. And that’s Clarke Schmidt. He gives you a chance to win.”

Holbrook on depth: “It’s been very difficult for me to settle on a lineup. Y’all probably thought it was coaches speak when I told you there are guys evenly matched. You can probably see what I was talking about from the way they’re performing. But at some point I’ll have to narrow this thing down; I can’t keep it a revolving door.”

John Jones on the relationship between all three catchers: “We’re as close as you can be. The team refers to us as the Three Stooges. We really enjoy each other’s company. I don’t think there is any friction.”

Schmidt on his season-high 81 pitches: “There was no point where it was ‘You have this many pitches or you’re done’ or ‘You have this many innings and you’re done.’ It was kind of touchy-feely. I think I was going to go back out there for the eighth but he said he wanted to get Colie [Bowers] hot and Colie was already hot. There’s no need sending me back out there when we had the lead we had.”

Schmidt on controlling the game: “As a pitcher you’re kind of running things. You have to set the tone. Going out there, I said I wanted to throw strikes. When you’re throwing strikes, working counts and having the quick innings you need, it can keep defense on their toes.”

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