7 Gamecocks taken in 2009 NFL Draft

Seven University of South Carolina football players were taken today during Day 2 of the 2009 NFL Draft.

Jared Cook's name was the first to be called, going late in the 3rd round to the Tennessee Titans. After Cook, WR Kenny McKinley, LB Jasper Brinkley and OL Jamon Meredith were all 5th round picks.

CB Captain Munnerlyn and CB Stoney Woodson were taken taken a few picks before Mr. Irrelevant K Ryan Succop.

The Gamecocks' 7-player draft class was second in the nation to Southern Cal's 11. Albeit most of the Trojans' stars were selected on the first day, headlined by No. 5 Mark Sanchez's contract with the New York Jets. Go Cocks!

Braves ranked in national D2 poll

After taking 2-of-3 this weekend from No. 8 North Georgia in Pembroke, UNCP was voted into the Division-II Collegiate Baseball poll for the first time since 2005 on Monday. The Braves have a school record 35 wins this season and are a game over .500 in conference play (12-11).

Notables on offense over the weekend include PBC Player-of-the-Week Joe Mangum. Mangum homered five times over the final two games with North Georgia including a three-dinger game in Sunday's 16-4 victory. Senior Kevin Dietrich saw his 18-game hitting streak snapped in the rubber game but did walk twice and scored three runs.

The No. 24 Braves will fight for Peach Belt Tournament seeding this weekend as they host top-ranked region power USC Aiken (No. 7 in DII College Baseball Poll). The Pacers have won 13 straight games heading into tomorrow's two-game set with Pfeiffer. Presumably, Matt McGovern (7-0, 2.93 ERA) Brian Willis (4-3, 4.55) and Jonathan Rivera (6-1, 2.78) will gets the starts for UNCP. McGovern, right, is unbeaten in his collegiate career and has solidified his spot in the rotation as the Braves' top starter.

Unfortunately for the Braves, the conference tournament is a single-elimination tournament. Since the tournament will be expanded to eight teams in 2009, UNCP will have little room for error in Aiken, S.C., the first weekend of May.

UNCP HR TALLY THROUGH 49 GAMES = 62

Diamond Braves tie record, 11th win

11 consecutive wins and counting for the UNCP baseball squad. The Braves won 10-7 at Catawba this evening, with Jake Dailey getting his fourth win this season. Ryan Kirkman pitched a 1-2-3 9th for his eighth save. Both Jason Coker and Kevin Dietrich extended their hitting streaks to 15 games. At 33-13, the Braves also tied the single season wins record (33) and have six Peach Belt Conference games over the next two weekends to break it.

Despite rain, Braves win 10th straight

The UNCP Braves are on fire. After sliding past St. Andrews 6-2 on a soggy Tuesday night, UNCP (32-13, 10-10 PBC) have won 10 straight and are poised for a seed in the PBC tournament in two weeks.

How close are the Braves to an overall wins record? Ten wins in a row isn't a record-breaking accomplishment according to coach Paul O'Neil. O'Neil says his team won 11 consecutive games in the 2005 season. A win Thursday at Catawba ties that mark.

UNCP beats St. Andrews 6-2

Dietrich a possible POY candidate

The UNCP Braves' baseball team has won six consecutive games due in large part to senior Kevin Dietrich. Playing in his final few weeks in a Braves uniform, Dietrich is hitting .435 for the season and homered in three straight games. Depending on the Braves' success over the final three weekends in Peach Belt Conference play, Dietrich will definitely be a factor in Player of the Year talks.

UNCP (28-13, 7-10 PBC) swept Georgia Southwestern over the weekend for their first series win in conference play. The Braves made it six wins in a row this week after winning a pair of mid-week battles with Chowan. UNCP is now 10-2 in mid-week affairs this season.

Matt McGovern, Bryan Willis and Jonathan Rivera will get the starts this weekend for the Braves as they travel to Lander for a pivotal three-game series. Lander is 8-8 in league play while UNCP is 7-10. Lander hold a one game lead over the Braves for seventh place in the Peach Belt. The top eight teams earn a trip to the conference tournament in May.

Braves beat Chowan in game one 9-3

Locklear delivers in 11 innings for UNCP