March 30, 2008
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Columbia, S.C. – Phil Disher’s one-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth broke a 2-2 tie and jumpstarted a four-run inning as South Carolina defeated Kentucky 6-2 to win the rubber game of a three-game SEC series. The Gamecocks are 18-7 and 6-3 in the SEC while the loss drops Kentucky to 22-4 and 5-4 in the SEC. Carolina reliever Brandon Todd pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of relief to pick up the victory and improve to 1-1 on the year. He struck out three batters.
With the score deadlocked at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Justin Smoak drew a leadoff walk against reliever Brock Baber to put the winning run on base. When Kyle Enders laid down a sacrifice bunt, Kentucky catcher Brian Suerdick attempted to throw out Smoak at second base but the throw was not in time to give Carolina runners on first and second base with no outs. With one out and a 1-1 count to Phil Disher, the Gamecock designated hitter drilled a RBI single to left center scoring Smoak and putting the Gamecocks on top by a run. With two outs and runners still on first and second base, the Gamecocks would score three more times on RBI hits from Harley Lail, Reese Havens and Whit Merrifield. Brandon Todd proceeded to strike out the first two Kentucky hitters in the top of the ninth inning and then coaxed Tyler Howe into a fly ball to center field to preserve the Gamecock victory.
Baber, who had not allowed an earned run all season, took the loss and is 1-1 on the year. He allowed four runs on two hits with two strikeouts and a walk.
Carolina starting pitcher Blake Cooper and Kentucky starter Greg Dombrowski dueled it out on the mound and limited two of the top offenses in the SEC through most of the game. Both teams traded runs in the third inning with Cooper escaping an early jam with a double play ball to Brian Spear that scored the first Wildcat run. The Gamecocks bounced back in the bottom half with a solo home run from DeAngelo Mack, his third of the season.
It remained 1-1 until the bottom of the sixth inning when Phil Disher gave the Gamecocks a one-run lead on his first RBI hit of the game. With the bases loaded and two outs, Disher hit a hard hit ball in between the hole at shortstop and third base. Although shortstop Chris Wade got to the ball and made a throw, Disher beat it out to score Whit Merrifield to give the Gamecocks a one-run lead. The lead would be short-lived though as Kentucky battled back to score in the top of the seventh inning on a pinch-hit RBI base hit courtesy of Brian Rose.
Cooper went 6.2 innings for the Gamecocks and allowed two runs, one earned, on seven hits. Dombrowski worked 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts.
The Gamecocks finished with a 10-7 hit advantage including three hits from Harley Lail and two hits from Whit Merrifield and Phil Disher. Kennan Wiley was 2-for-4 to lead Kentucky at the plate. Andrew Crisp had a single in the sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to 17 games for the Gamecocks.
Carolina returns to action on Tuesday evening returning to the Lowcountry for a non-conference tilt at The Citadel. First pitch is scheduled for 7 pm at Joe Riley Park with the game available on 107.5 FM.
