Schmidt, Jones lead the way as Gamecocks stay unbeaten
South Carolina sophomore pitcher Clarke Schmidt is definitely ready to face Clemson.
In perhaps the best outing of his career, Schmidt blanked Penn State over seven innings, allowing just one hit with eight strikeouts and one walk to spark South Carolina to a workmanlike 7-1 victory over the Nittany Lions Friday afternoon in the first of a three-game series at Founders Park.
The Gamecocks improved to 6-0. Game 2 of the series is Saturday at 2 p.m. with freshman right-hander Braden Webb scheduled to make his second career start for the Gamecocks.
Designated hitter John Jones continued swinging a hot bat for the Gamecocks by going 4-for-4, including a solo homer in the bottom of the first that ignited the Gamecocks offense, and driving in a four runs. He also had a key two-run bloop single in USC’s three-run sixth that put the game away.
Nine different Gamecocks had at least one hit. Dom Thompson-Williams (2-for-5, RBI) and Marcus Mooney (2-for-3, run scored) contributed a pair of hits to USC’s 14-hit attack.
*** Also see: Photo gallery by Paul Collins ***
“It was a good win for us,” Gamecock coach Chad Holbrook said. “The (Penn State starting pitcher) had a really good arm, maybe better than we thought based on the scouting report. A big, tall lefty throwing 90 to 92 is tough. Our guys battled him pretty well. Jones got us off to a good start in the first inning. Then we scored three more in the second and we felt pretty good about the game at that point.”
The best storylines from this game belonged to Schmidt (career long 7.0 IP) and Jones (3rd Gamecock player this season with four RBI).
Schmidt averaged less than 12 pitches per inning. He needed just five pitches in the top of the first, setting the tone for his tremendous outing.
“Clarke Schmidt was outstanding,” Holbrook said. “He was very efficient with 81 pitches in seven innings. He was very polished with his command for the most part and he was in control of the game from the get go. He can be that way.
“That’s what I saw all of January and February in our scrimmages. He was doing that to our hitters. When he throws the ball the way he is capable, he is tough to handle. He had a little giddy up on his fastball. The ball was exploding out of his hand. He was sharp.”
In two starts this season, Schmidt is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in 13.0 inning pitched. He has fanned 14 opposing batters with five walks and one run allowed. Opposing batters are hitting a meager .100 (4-40) against him in his two starts.
“In the bullpen (during warmups), I felt really good,” Schmidt said. “I had a lot of confidence coming into this game. I wanted to go out and pitch like I did in the scrimmages and in the fall. It worked for me. I knew early on my stuff was working for me.”
His next start will likely be next Friday night against Clemson at Founders Park in the first of three games against the rival Tigers. Schmidt’s brother, Clate, is starting pitcher for Clemson, but he is likely to face the Gamecocks next Saturday in Greenville.
“I’m going to let him get his start in tomorrow and I’ll save the trash talking for a little bit after that,” Schmidt said. “Maybe Sunday or Monday, I’ll throw some jabs in there. I’m sure it’s coming from him and he knows it’s coming from me.”
Through six games, Jones is batting .522 (12-23) with two homers and 13 RBI. He served as the designated hitter for the fourth time in six games Friday with freshman Chris Cullen handling the catching duties for the second straight game.
So far, sophomore Hunter Taylor is proving to be the odd man out with just two at-bats in the first six games.
“We have three really good catchers,” Holbrook said. “I’m sick that I haven’t been able to play Hunter Taylor more because he is much improved and he is deserving of some opportunities. But Jones and Cullen are playing so well. Cullen is very gifted and as advanced defensively as any young catcher I have ever coached. It’s hard to take him out of the lineup.”
Cullen was 1-for-4 with a RBI double in the second and meshed well with Schmidt behind the plate. Moments after his run-scoring two-bagger, Cullen scored when Marcus Mooney’s bunt single turned into a throwing error by the Penn State second baseman. Mooney then scored on Jones’ RBI single to center.
“Jones stood out going 4-for-4 with four RBI and I love the presence he has in the middle of our lineup, but some of our other guys had some pretty good at-bats too,” Holbrook said. “We have a lot of guys that are evenly matched. You can see what I was talking about now based on how they are all performing. Some of them are still competing to play. I feel good about the depth of our team.”
Staked to an early 4-0 lead, Schmidt dominated the Nittany Lion hitters throughout his impressive seven-inning stint, retiring 21 of 23 PSU hitters and facing as many as four hitters just twice.
JUCO transfer Colie Bowers, a graduate of Lexington High School, gave up a solo homer with two outs in the top of the ninth for the Nittany Lions’ lone run of the contest, but he fanned six of the seven Penn State batters he faced
The 5-fooit-11, 175 pound Bowers has struck out eight batters in 3.1 innings over his first two appearances for the Gamecocks. He signed with College of Charleston out of high school and spent one season with the Cougars before transferring to USC Sumter for two seasons.
“I was proud of Colie. His changeup is a very good pitch,” Holbrook said. “He threw the ball well in the fall. I’m tickled to death for Colie. He is living a dream. We had to recruit him hard to come here and he had to make a decision. He did that to our guys all fall. When the fall was over, we were wondering if he was going to be in the weekend rotation. I love the way he has thrown.”
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