South Carolina Gamecocks Final '07 Rank: 12 46-20

South Carolina had one of the most explosive, powerful starting lineups in ’07. Four Gamecocks had 15 or more homeruns, led by junior switch hitting first baseman Justin Smoak’s 22 blasts. Collectively Carolina hit a nation high 113 homeruns and crossed the plated 520 times while holding opposition to just 304 runs scored. They appeared to be headed to Omaha for the fourth time since 2002 until their neighbors to the north, the UNC Tarheels, scored eight unanswered runs on its way to a 9-4 win over the Gamecocks in a deciding game three of an NCAA Super Regional. The loss ended South Carolina's season and CWS aspirations at 46-20. Yet with a bulk of bats returning to campus in ’08, USC must be on any shortlist of title contender teams as they regroup and reload for the new season.

Of the four biggest run producers from the ’07 Gamecock lineup, three will return to campus. Only second baseman Travis Jones (.318, 18, 68) will be absent from the lineup after being drafted in the seventh round by the Atlanta Braves. All American candidate Justin Smoak is one of top profession prospects in the country. A clutch performer who contributes with the glove as well as the bat, Smoak hit .315 with 22 HR and 72 RBI for the Gamecocks. His 39 home runs in two seasons has him only eight short of the South Carolina school record of 48. Smoak spent the summer playing for USA Baseball National Team. Junior third baseman James Darnell led the team in batting with a .331 average and also contributed 19 HR and 63 RBI. Darnell played in the Cape Cod Summer League, where he earned All Star status and was among the leaders in home runs to validate his position as a top 2008 MLB draft prospect. Senior DH Phil Disher has improved each year since arriving at USC - almost exponentially. His first year he hit .182 with two homeruns, followed by a .262 average with six homers as a sophomore. Last year Disher broke out with a .328 batting average and 15 homeruns in the heart of the order and will return for more despite being drafted by the SF Giants. Outfielder senior Harley Lail (.291, 4, 25, 10 SB), junior outfielder Adam Crisp (.283, 8, 28) and nimble junior shortstop Reese Havens (.274, 5, 43) will also be welcomed back to Columbia.

The outlook isn’t quite as brilliant for the Gamecock pitchers who will need someone to emerge now that aces Harris Honeycutt (8-5, 3.47) and Arik Hempy (7-3, 3.58) have joined the professional ranks. With the amount of potential runs that the starting lineup is projected to score, Carolina pitchers won’t need to hurl shutouts, but they will need to be effective. Junior Mike Cisco is set to be the staff ace after going 6-2 with a 3.84 ERA in 14 starts (16 appearances) last year. Also returning is sophomore Blake Cooper who went 7-2 with a 4.48 ERA in his first season. Will Atwood (2-2, 4.91) made three starts and could complete the weekend rotation if neither sophomore lefty Craig Thomas (only 7.1 IP in ‘07) nor freshman Paker Bangs emerges to take the role. In the bullpen, Curtis Johnson (3.38 ERA, 54 Ks in 42.2 IP) is slated to take the role of closer. He’ll be challenged by Jordon Costner (3-0, 0.73 ERA) who is coming off injuries and was only able to complete 12.1 innings in 2007.