RedHawks Set to Take on Gamecocks
3/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Follow: @MiamiOHBaseball | @MiamiRedHawks
Miami RedHawks (2-5, 0-0 MAC)
Games 8-10 | March 6-8
Miami at South Carolina | Columbia, S.C.
ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA (9-3, 0-0 SEC): In his second season as head coach in 2014, Chad Holbrook led the Gamecocks to a 44-18 record, including a stellar 34-7 mark at home. In conference play, the team went 18-12 and finished second in the SEC East. They made it to NCAA Regionals where they ultimately fell to Maryland. The program won back-to-back national championships in 2010 and 2011 and has made 30 NCAA Tournament appearances. Their last SEC title came in 2011.
The Gamecocks are currently ranked 10th in the country in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll. They are one of five SEC teams ranked in the top-10. In the Baseball America Poll, they are ranked 12th.
SERIES HSTORY: The RedHawks and Gamecocks have met four times previously. South Carolina leads the all-time series, 3-1. Miami’s only victory, a 3-1 score, came back in 1973 in the Rollins Tournament. The two teams last met in 1975 at a tournament in DeLand, Florida. South Carolina took both games by scores of 9-2 and 3-1.
WATCH THIS WEEKEND’S GAMES
Friday: SEC Network + and WatchESPN.com
Saturday: SEC Network + and WatchESPN.com
Sunday: SEC Network + and WatchESPN.com
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday
| Team | Player | W-L | ERA | G-GS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Miami | Ryan Powers (Sr. RHP) | 1-2 | 6.43 | 3-3 | 14.0 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 15 |
| South Carolina | Wil Crowe (So. RHP) | 1-1 | 4.96 | 3-3 | 16.1 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 23 |
Saturday
| Team | Player | W-L | ERA | G-GS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Miami | Jacob Banks (So. RHP) | 1-2 | 4.24 | 3-3 | 17.0 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 14 |
| South Carolina | Jack Wynkoop (Jr. LHP) | 2-1 | 2.84 | 3-3 | 19.0 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 18 |
Sunday
| Team | Player | W-L | ERA | G-GS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Miami | Nathan Williams (Sr. RHP) | 0-0 | 0.00 | 2-0 | 3.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| South Carolina | TBA | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
POWER UP: Senior Ryan Powers looks to continue his stride after his breakout season during the 2014 campaign. The 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher appeared in 16 games, starting 13. He finished with a 9-3 record and a 4.25 ERA on the way to claiming Second-Team All-MAC Honors. As if that wasn’t enough, Powers was one of two RedHawks who had his name called in the 2014 MLB Draft. The righty was selected in the 22nd round (652 overall) by the Philadelphia Phillies. So far this season, Powers has a 1-2 record with a 6.43 ERA. Opponents are hitting .231 against him. On February 20th, Powers started against USC Upstate and pitched six scoreless innings, allowed no hits and struck out a career-high eight Spartan batters.
SADA’S SUCCESS: Steve Sada had a freshman year to remember last season and the second-year player will look to be slotted in as the team’s starting second baseman once again. Sada hit .309 while recording a .391 on-base percentage and drew a team-best 24 walks. Like Powers, Sada earned Second-Team All-MAC honors. In addition, he was tabbed a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. So far this season, Sada is hitting .286 and is leading the team with four runs batted in.
HONCHEL RISING: With eight hits last weekend, senior Matt Honchel now has 241 career hits. This past weekend, he passed Associate Head Coach Jeremy Ison for fifth all-time in career hits at Miami. In addition, Honchel moved up the career batting average list and currently sits at sixth all-time with a .359 average. This season, Honchel is off to a hot start with a .533 batting average with two doubles, five runs and one RBI.
STEP ON UP: After some injury problems last season, senior Kendall Johnson has been pegged to be the the team’s new first baseman. In 39 games last season, Johnson hit just .185 but has started of this season on a high-note, batting .600 with one RBI in two games. In addition, Hayden loves his defensive game and believes he will be a key asset to the team this season. “I’m looking forward to see what Kendall Johnson can do from the first base position, to see if he can hold his own,” said Hayden. “He had a really nice fall, especially towards the end. He’s tremendous defensively. We want to try to make it work with him over there and we’re confident he’s going to do a good job.” So far this season, he is hitting .278 and has garnered a .364 on-base percentage.
VERSATILE ‘HAWKS: Versatility is the name of the game for the RedHawks. Hayden prides himself on having a team in which a large majority of the guys can play just about any position they are asked to. Last season, after starting 40 games at shortstop, senior Ryan Elble is slotted to play left field this season. Last season, five RedHawks played three or more different positions. Hayden has no hesitation putting players in different positions, even if they don’t have much experience playing it.
NEW FACES: The bullpen has seen a number of fresh faces this year and the newcomers have been very good so far this season.
Gus Graham: 2 app, 3 IP, 1R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA and a .100 opp batting avg.
Chris Ticherich: 1 app, 3 IP, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1 SV and 0.00 ERA
Will Schierholz: 3 app, 2.1 IP, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA and 1 SV
Nick Scheller: 3 app, 4.1 IP, 1R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 2.08 ERA and a .231 opp. batting avg.
