March 6, 2003
Columbia, S.C. – The South Carolina baseball team continues its longest homestand of the season with a three-game series vs. Radford beginning on Friday evening at 7 p.m. Carolina enters this weekend with an 11-2 record, including eight wins at Sarge Frye Field this year. Radford comes into Columbia with a 2-2 record. South Carolina leads the series vs. the Highlanders that dates back to 1994. USC is 5-2 vs. Radford including a series sweep in early March of 2000, the last time both teams met.
The Gamecocks will start sophomore LHP Matt Campbell on Friday. Campbell is 1-1 with a 4.41 ERA in 16 and 1/3 innings pitched. Saturday’s starter will be senior LHP Steven Bondurant or freshman LHP Forrest Beverly, both pitchers with no decisions on the year. Junior LHP David Marchbanks is slated to start Sunday’s contest. Marchbanks tied his career longest outing in Tuesday’s 11-1 win vs. Gardner Webb, pitching eight innings. Marchbanks owns a 4-0 record with a 1.91 ERA and has 21 strikeouts and one walk in 28 and 1/3 innings pitched.
South Carolina is batting .317 as a team with freshman OF Michael Campbell leading the way for USC at the plate. Campbell is batting .433 (13-for-30) with two HR and six RBI. Sophomore INF Kevin Melillo has also had the hot bat for Carolina with a .432 batting average (16-for-37), including five doubles. Campbell and Melillo are two of seven USC players batting above .300 for the season (Nick Gardiner, .371; Landon Powell, .367; Brian Bucher, .364; Bryan Triplett, .324; Trey McDaniel, .321).
Radford head coach Lew Kent is in his ninth season at the helm of the Highlanders. Kent served as hitting coach for South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner when Tanner was head coach at N.C. State. Sophomore 2B Alan Ashworth is the Highlanders top hitter on the year with a .312 batting average, one HR and three RBI. The Highlanders defeated VMI 2-1 on Tuesday with sophomore RHP Justin Tubb improving his record to 2-0.
First pitch for Saturday’s game is 4 p.m. with the final game of the series on Sunday beginning at 1:30 p.m. Live stats will be available at USCSports.com for all three games this weekend.
