South Carolina pitching coach Jerry Meyers has decided on which pitchers will start Games 1 and 2 of the upcoming Super Regional against Oklahoma.
Senior left-hander Michael Roth and junior Colby Holmes were always the favorites to take the mound against the surging Sooners, so it's no surprise that the veteran duo was Meyers' choice to start the first two games of the best-of-three series.
"We'll run Michael out there in Game 1 and Colby in Game 2 and I'm sure (Oklahoma) is doing the same, as far as experience-wise," Meyers said Thursday on 107.5 The Game. "We expect they're going to run their top two guys out there."
Roth, drafted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ninth round on Tuesday, has been USC's No. 1 starter for the last two seasons and Meyers doesn't plan to change that for the final home start of his career.
Roth allowed six hits and three runs in 6 1-3 innings last week, so he will have his customary six days rest when he takes the mound at 8 p.m. on Saturday for the nationally televised (ESPNU) series-opener against Oklahoma.
Holmes was brilliant in USC's NCAA Regional debut six days ago, holding Manhattan without a hit until two outs in the top of the eighth, when a two-out single to left spoiled the no-hit bid.
He matched Manhattan's Taylor Sewitt pitch-for-pitch for six innings, until the Gamecocks finally broke through with four runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth.
"Those are pressure pitches and they were pressure at-bats for both guys," Meyers said. "They performed well. Fortunately, we were able to grind it out and win that battle."
By holding the Jaspers scoreless on just one hit over eight innings, Holmes improved his record to 7-1 and lowered his ERA to 3.00 in 69 innings, with 58 strikeouts and 13 walks.
Holmes' seven wins are the most on the Gamecocks, one more than Roth (6-1). Jordan Montgomery and Tyler Webb have five wins each.
Montgomery improved to 5-1 with a 4.05 ERA in 66 2-3 innings after hurling the first 6 2-3 innings, allowing five hits and two runs, of Sunday's 4-3 victory over rival Clemson.
Montgomery and Webb combined for 10 strikeouts and only one walk in the thrilling win that wasn't secured until a deep fly to right was caught by Adam Matthews.
Webb appeared in both games against Clemson, allowing two hits and one run in 3 1-3 innings, including an impressive 2 1-3-inning stint in the regional-clinching victory on Sunday. Webb replaced Montgomery with two outs in the seventh inning and got the last seven outs for his third save of the season.
Afterwards, USC coach Ray Tanner lauded Webb for verbalizing his desire after the eighth inning to remain in the game and try to secure the final three outs.
"Webb has always had that mentality, but he might have said something more than he had in other situations," Meyers said. "In 90 percent of his appearances this season, the game has been on the line when he entered. There has never been a situation where he wanted us to come get him.
"We felt good about the way he was throwing (against Clemson). He felt like he was in a big-time groove, and he was probably trying to give us a little more confidence in him by showing us that he was going to get it done."
Holmes nor Webb heard their names called during the three-day Major League Baseball draft that ended on Wednesday. Thus, both pitchers should return to the Gamecocks in 2013 as seniors and compete for spots in the weekend rotation, along with a number of rising sophomore and junior hurlers.
"We wanted it to work out for them if the draft was right, and financially, it was a move they had to make," Meyers said. "We would have been the first one giving them a hug and saying, 'Hey, go get 'em.' So, it's kind of a bittersweet thing. Obviously, we'll be a much better, deeper and more veteran pitching staff with those guys back.
"So, from that perspective, we feel good about what those guys will be able to continue doing and get better at. It's a commitment from them that I'm not just going to sign for anything. They're committed to the program and they've made huge marks."
Since there is no guarantee of a third game this weekend, Meyers insisted that he will not hold Montgomery or any other pitcher if he believes USC has a chance to sweep Oklahoma in two games and advance to the College World Series for the third straight year, and the sixth time in 11 seasons.
As a result, USC's starter for the "if necessary" Game 3 is the always-popular "TBA."
"We feel good about Jordan Montgomery, but we'll use him out of the pen if we need to in order to try to make sure we do everything we can in Game 1 and Game 2," Meyers said. "We have no reservations in doing that."
Oklahoma, which finished fourth in the Big 12 with a 13-10 conference mark, has relied on a solid weekend starting trio of Jordan John (8-7, 2.29 ERA in 117 2-3 innings, four saves), Jonathan Gray (8-4, 3.32 ERA in 97 2-3 innings) and Dillon Overton (6-3, 3.16 ERA in 116 2-3 innings) throughout the second half of the 2012 season.
The Sooners' pitching staff also features reliever Damien Magnifico, who possesses a blazing fastball that often reaches the magical 100 miles-per-hour plateau on the radar gun, but he often struggles to find the strike zone. He has 34 strikeouts and 25 walks in 51 1-3 innings this season.
"Oklahoma is an outstanding club," Meyers said. "They played very well after losing a game in the regional. They continued to fight their way through and get some things going offensively. They got some momentum and pitched it very well. We're going to have our work cut out for us. We're doing all we can these last three or four days to research and get a feel for them on video and scouting reports."
link: http://southcarolina...asp?CID=1373265
Senior left-hander Michael Roth and junior Colby Holmes were always the favorites to take the mound against the surging Sooners, so it's no surprise that the veteran duo was Meyers' choice to start the first two games of the best-of-three series.
"We'll run Michael out there in Game 1 and Colby in Game 2 and I'm sure (Oklahoma) is doing the same, as far as experience-wise," Meyers said Thursday on 107.5 The Game. "We expect they're going to run their top two guys out there."
Roth, drafted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ninth round on Tuesday, has been USC's No. 1 starter for the last two seasons and Meyers doesn't plan to change that for the final home start of his career.
Roth allowed six hits and three runs in 6 1-3 innings last week, so he will have his customary six days rest when he takes the mound at 8 p.m. on Saturday for the nationally televised (ESPNU) series-opener against Oklahoma.
Holmes was brilliant in USC's NCAA Regional debut six days ago, holding Manhattan without a hit until two outs in the top of the eighth, when a two-out single to left spoiled the no-hit bid.
He matched Manhattan's Taylor Sewitt pitch-for-pitch for six innings, until the Gamecocks finally broke through with four runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth.
"Those are pressure pitches and they were pressure at-bats for both guys," Meyers said. "They performed well. Fortunately, we were able to grind it out and win that battle."
By holding the Jaspers scoreless on just one hit over eight innings, Holmes improved his record to 7-1 and lowered his ERA to 3.00 in 69 innings, with 58 strikeouts and 13 walks.
Holmes' seven wins are the most on the Gamecocks, one more than Roth (6-1). Jordan Montgomery and Tyler Webb have five wins each.
Montgomery improved to 5-1 with a 4.05 ERA in 66 2-3 innings after hurling the first 6 2-3 innings, allowing five hits and two runs, of Sunday's 4-3 victory over rival Clemson.
Montgomery and Webb combined for 10 strikeouts and only one walk in the thrilling win that wasn't secured until a deep fly to right was caught by Adam Matthews.
Webb appeared in both games against Clemson, allowing two hits and one run in 3 1-3 innings, including an impressive 2 1-3-inning stint in the regional-clinching victory on Sunday. Webb replaced Montgomery with two outs in the seventh inning and got the last seven outs for his third save of the season.
Afterwards, USC coach Ray Tanner lauded Webb for verbalizing his desire after the eighth inning to remain in the game and try to secure the final three outs.
"Webb has always had that mentality, but he might have said something more than he had in other situations," Meyers said. "In 90 percent of his appearances this season, the game has been on the line when he entered. There has never been a situation where he wanted us to come get him.
"We felt good about the way he was throwing (against Clemson). He felt like he was in a big-time groove, and he was probably trying to give us a little more confidence in him by showing us that he was going to get it done."
Holmes nor Webb heard their names called during the three-day Major League Baseball draft that ended on Wednesday. Thus, both pitchers should return to the Gamecocks in 2013 as seniors and compete for spots in the weekend rotation, along with a number of rising sophomore and junior hurlers.
"We wanted it to work out for them if the draft was right, and financially, it was a move they had to make," Meyers said. "We would have been the first one giving them a hug and saying, 'Hey, go get 'em.' So, it's kind of a bittersweet thing. Obviously, we'll be a much better, deeper and more veteran pitching staff with those guys back.
"So, from that perspective, we feel good about what those guys will be able to continue doing and get better at. It's a commitment from them that I'm not just going to sign for anything. They're committed to the program and they've made huge marks."
Since there is no guarantee of a third game this weekend, Meyers insisted that he will not hold Montgomery or any other pitcher if he believes USC has a chance to sweep Oklahoma in two games and advance to the College World Series for the third straight year, and the sixth time in 11 seasons.
As a result, USC's starter for the "if necessary" Game 3 is the always-popular "TBA."
"We feel good about Jordan Montgomery, but we'll use him out of the pen if we need to in order to try to make sure we do everything we can in Game 1 and Game 2," Meyers said. "We have no reservations in doing that."
Oklahoma, which finished fourth in the Big 12 with a 13-10 conference mark, has relied on a solid weekend starting trio of Jordan John (8-7, 2.29 ERA in 117 2-3 innings, four saves), Jonathan Gray (8-4, 3.32 ERA in 97 2-3 innings) and Dillon Overton (6-3, 3.16 ERA in 116 2-3 innings) throughout the second half of the 2012 season.
The Sooners' pitching staff also features reliever Damien Magnifico, who possesses a blazing fastball that often reaches the magical 100 miles-per-hour plateau on the radar gun, but he often struggles to find the strike zone. He has 34 strikeouts and 25 walks in 51 1-3 innings this season.
"Oklahoma is an outstanding club," Meyers said. "They played very well after losing a game in the regional. They continued to fight their way through and get some things going offensively. They got some momentum and pitched it very well. We're going to have our work cut out for us. We're doing all we can these last three or four days to research and get a feel for them on video and scouting reports."
link: http://southcarolina...asp?CID=1373265
Last edited by a moderator:
