May 17, 2003
Columbia, S.C. – Landon Powell drove in six runs with two homers, one of them a grand slam, Saturday to lead South Carolina to a 14-2 Southeastern Conference baseball win over Georgia.
South Carolina, which clinched the SEC Eastern Division championship Friday night with a 5-2 win over Georgia, goes for a sweep of the final series of the regular season at 1:30 p.m., Sunday. A sweep would be the third consecutive for the Gamecocks, 37-18, 18-11 in the SEC. South Carolina swept Kentucky and Alabama the two previous weekends.
Georgia dropped to 29-25 overall, 10-19 in the conference.
The Gamecocks also clinched at least a tie for second overall in the SEC behind Western Division and overall champion Louisiana State. Mississippi lost to Auburn 5-2 Saturday to drop to 17-12 while Auburn improved to 17-12, one game behind the Gamecocks with one game with each other remaining.
Junior left-hander David Marchbanks, the SEC leader in wins and tied for third nationally, pitched seven innings to improve his record to 12-2. He allowed six hits, both Georgia runs, walked one and struck out six. Georgia starter Will Startup, 3-4, was charged with the loss. He allowed eight hits and six earned runs in the first two innings.
Powell hit his fifth home run of the season with a runner on base in the first inning and his sixth in the seventh with the bases loaded. He also had a single for a three for four day. Kevin Melillo hit a two run home run in the third inning and also had a single and a third RBI.
Justin Harris, Bryan Triplett, Steven Tolleson and Jon Coutlangus also had two hits in a 15 hit Gamecock attack. South Carolina built a 9-0 lead with two first inning runs, four in the second and three in the third. The Gamecocks added one in the fifth and four on the Powell grand slam in the seventh.
Coutlangus, who was three for three against Georgia Friday night, is five for six in the first two games of the series. Melillo, also three for three Friday, was two for four Saturday and is five for seven in the two games.
David Coffey hit a solo home run, his ninth of the season, in the sixth inning for Georgia’s first run. The second Bulldog run came in the seventh inning when Clint Sammons doubled, moved to third on a single by Marshall Szabo, and scored on an infield out.
Szabo was the only Bulldog with two hits as Georgia managed seven hits.
