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Notes and Quotes: USC-Vanderbilt Game 3

NASHVILLE – Notes and quotes from South Carolina’s 10-6 loss to Vanderbilt Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Stadium.

NOTES

-- USC announced before Saturday’s game that Alex Destino suffered a sprained shoulder making a sensation catch in Friday’s game and would miss about a week of action. He could return in time for the start of next weekend’s three-game home series against Tennessee.

-- Gene Cone extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a base hit in the ninth inning. Cone was 4-for-11 in the series (.364) with three runs scored.

-- D.C. Arendas was 4-for-10 in the series as he showed signs of snapping out of his hitting slump. Saturday marked his fifth multi-hit game of the 2016 season.

-- USC is now 20-1 this season when they score first and 12-1 when they score in the first inning. The Gamecocks scored twice in the first inning Saturday, giving them 32 runs in their first at-bat this season.

-- The pitchers for both teams combined for 11 walks and 23 strikeouts.

-- This weekend’s series marked Vanderbilt’s first series win over USC since 2013.

-- The Gamecocks play 11 of their next 16 games at home, including SEC series vs. Tennessee, Missouri and Florida. One of the five games away from Founders Park is an April 12 neutral site contest against North Carolina in Charlotte.

QUOTES:

D.C. Arendas on his improved hitting: “I’m trying to be a little more aggressive. I just have to keep working on it.”

Arendas on the USC pitching staff: “They did a great job all weekend of keeping us in the game and making some great pitches. We just didn’t do enough offensively today.

Arendas on freshman T.J. Hopkins overrunning a fly ball in the fifth and making a sensational diving catch the following inning: “He had a tough play with the wind swirling. I thought it was really encouraging the way he responded with a diving play the next inning. It was awesome to see from a young guy.”

Dom Thompson-Williams on the conditions: “The wind was pretty crucial. We came in here Thursday and struggled with popups. We knew that would be a huge thing. Unfortunately, today didn’t go as planned (defensively). We’re not used to this wind in Columbia.”

Chad Holbrook on Alex Destino missing about a week if action: “It was a nasty collision and I was glad to see the determination to make a tough play. Yeah, we’re blessed. We’re pretty healthy right now. (Destino) will be on the mend this week. We have great medical folks. Hopefully, we’ll get him back real soon.”

Holbrook on Saturday’s conditions for the pitchers: “The conditions were brutal. It was 30 miles per hour blowing straight out against some good hitters and some short porches. Our pitching staff has been great. We’ve been near the top of the league in ERA all season long. We didn’t help our pitchers (defensively).”

SEC SCORES (Sat. April 2)

Vanderbilt 10, South Carolina 6

Georgia 12, Alabama 4

Florida 7, Texas A&M 2

Kentucky 5, Tennessee 4

Mississippi State 6, Ole Miss 2

Missouri 8, Arkansas 5

Auburn 8, LSU 5 (Game 1)

LSU 8, Auburn 6 (Game 2)

SEC EAST STANDINGS:

South Carolina 7-2

Florida 6-2

Vanderbilt 6-3

Kentucky 5-3

Georgia 4-5

Tennessee 3-5

Missouri 1-7

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