April 15, 2011

Vanderbilt visits South Carolina in top weekend matchup

Two of the top three teams in the land will battle in Columbia as No. 3 South Carolina entertains top-ranked Vanderbilt.

The Gamecocks (10-2, 26-6) and Commodores (10-2, 31-3) are tied for first in the Eastern Division as well as for the best record in the SEC. Vanderbilt has a team ERA of 2.19 with 320 strikeouts in 300 innings. The Commodores are batting .313, while opponents are hitting .212. South Carolina is strong on the mound as well, with an ERA of 2.46 and opponent batting average of .289. The Gamecocks allowed one run in 27 innings at Tennessee this past weekend. South Carolina is hitting .289 and owns a 20-2 record at Carolina Stadium.

Another key series in the Southeast has Florida (9-3, 26-8) going to Georgia (8-4, 18-16) in SEC play. In the Southern Conference, College of Charleston (7-5, 22-12) goes to first-place Elon (12-3, 22-12). In the ACC, North Carolina (12-3, 30-5) makes the short trip to NC State (5-10, 18-16). First-place Bethune-Cookman (6-0, 19-17) travels to Norfolk State (6-2, 14-18) in the MEAC, while Alcorn State (10-4, 12-20) plays at Jackson State (10-5, 20-14) in a meeting of the top teams in the SWAC East.

In the Central, Oklahoma State (8-4, 25-8) meets Oklahoma (6-5, 25-8) in a Big 12 Bedlam series. In the Southland, Southeastern Louisiana (9-6, 23-11) goes to first-place Texas State (11-4, 21-11). In the OVC, Austin Peay (5-3, 15-17) heads to Jacksonville State (6-3, 23-11). Two key MVC series have Missouri State (2-1, 19-12) at Southern Illinois (3-0, 12-20) and Creighton (2-1, 23-7) at Indiana State (2-1, 19-12).

There are two big Pac-10 series as first-place Oregon State (5-1, 24-7) visits Stanford (3-3, 16-9) and UCLA (7-2, 17-11) entertains Arizona (4-5, 22-11). Gonzaga (3-0, 19-10) goes to Loyola Marymount (3-0, 19-12) in a West Coast Conference set. UC Santa Barbara (2-1, 14-13) travels to first-place Cal State Fullerton (5-1, 24-9) in the Big West.

In the Northeast, Louisville (6-3, 20-12) heads to St. John’s (5-4, 16-13) in a Big East battle. Princeton (6-2, 15-12) plays at Penn (6-2, 12-15) in a matchup of the top two teams in the Lou Gehrig Division of the Ivy League. Second-place Richmond (5-1, 18-13-2) travels to third-place Dayton (4-2, 18-16) in Atlantic 10 action. Binghamton (3-0, 11-15) goes to Albany (3-0, 10-16) in America East play. First-place Manhattan (9-0, 15-12) hosts Marist (4-5, 22-9) in a key Metro Atlantic series. Two important CAA sets have William and Mary (9-6, 18-17) at UNC Wilmington (7-5, 18-14) and Old Dominion (9-6, 17-17) at Georgia State (7-5, 26-9).

Enjoy the games this weekend!

(photo by Jimmy Jones)