May 11, 2003
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Sophomore left-hander Matt Campbell held Alabama to four hits over eight innings Sunday, only two of them after the first inning , and South Carolina won 5-1 to sweep a three game Southeastern Conference baseball series.
Campbell walked Zac Welch to open the Alabama ninth inning and was relieved by Aaron Rawl, making his third appearance out of the bullpen in the series. Rawl coaxed Al Hecklinski to hit into a double play and retired Evan Bush on a pop fly to second baseman Kevin Melillo to end the game. Since the South Carolina lead was four runs Rawl did not qualify for a save.
Campbell improved his record to 4-3 as South Carolina won its seventh game in a row to raise its record to 35-17 overall and 16-11 in the Southeastern Conference. Campbell struck out two and walked five.
South Carolina moved closer to clinching the SEC Eastern Division championship for the third time in four years. The Gamecocks end conference play next weekend against Georgia in Columbia.
Seth Johnson, 6-4, was charged with the loss. He gave up 11 hits, all singles, and five earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. The loss was Alabama’s fifth straight in conference action.
South Carolina scored one run in the first and two in the second inning to take an early 3-0 lead. Justin Harris beat out an infield hit, stole second and scored on a hit by Landon Powell in the first inning. In the second, three hits and a walk produced two runs. Jon Coutlangus drove in one with the first of his two hits and the other scored on a sacrifice fly by Melillo.
Travis Garner cut the lead to 3-1 with a solo home run in the sixth inning, his second of the season. Garner also had two infield hits to account for three fourths of the Alabama offense. The other Crimson Tide hit was a first inning single by Welch. Garner had led off the Alabama first with his first infield hit but was out attempting to steal second base on a throw by Powell, the Gamecock catcher.
Four base hits plated two Gamecock insurance runs in the seventh innings and knocked Johnson out of the game. Coutlangus, Melillo, Brian Buscher and Powell had hits in the inning. Justin Harris executed s perfect suicide squeeze bunt to drive in Coutlangus and the hit by Buscher drove in Melillo.
Powell, Coutlangus and Steven Tolleson had two hits each for South Carolina. Both of Tolleson’s hits were bunt singles.
