April 13, 2002
COLUMBIA, SC – Junior left-hander Steven Bondurant scattered five hits over 7 1/3 innings Saturday and seventh ranked South Carolina defeated Vanderbilt 10-1 and moved into first place by half a game in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division baseball race.
The Gamecocks took a 2-0 lead in the three game series and improved to 27-8 overall and 8-5 in the conference. Georgia, which dropped its second straight at Louisiana State, dropped to 8-6 in the division.
Bondurant remained undefeated in raising his record to 5-0. Vanderbilt starter Jeff Little, 4-4, took the loss. Rocky Evans relieved Bondurant with one out in the eighth and allowed one hit over the final 1 2/3 innings.
South Carolina jumped out to a 3-0 first inning . Drew Meyer began the game with a triple and scored when Vanderbilt left fielder John Kaye dropped Steve Thomas’ fly ball. Yaron Peters followed with his 13th home run of the season. Little settled down and pitched scoreless baseball until the fifth when the Gamecocks scored five times to make the score 8-0.
The Gamecocks batted around in the inning, using four hits, a hit batter, one walk and a sacrifice fielder’s’ choice which retired no one to put five runs on the scoreboard. The big blow was a three run bases loaded double by Justin Harris.
Vanderbilt scored its lone run in the sixth inning on back to back leadoff doubles by Karl Nonemaker and Tony Mansolino.
South Carolina closed out the scoring with two unearned runs in the eighth inning. The only hit in the inning was Thomas’ second double of the game but Vanderbilt, which committed four errors, made two miscues. South Carolina played errorless baseball for the 18th time in 35 games. Meyer, Thomas and Harris had two hits each in South Carolina’s 11 hit attack. Protho had two of six hits by Vanderbilt.
The series concludes with a 1 p.m. Central time contest Sunday at Charles Hawkins Field.
SOUTH CAROLINA 300 005 020 – 10-11-0
VANDERBILT 000 001 000 – 1-6-4
Bondurant, Evans (8) and Powell, Greenwood (9). Little, Ransom (6), Bennett (9) and Vanderhoff, Douillard (8). W-Bondurant (5-0). L-Little (4-4). Save-None. 2B-USC, Thomas 2, Gonce, Bell, Melillo, Harris, VU, Nonemaker, Mansolino, Luellwitz, Protho. 3B-USC, Meyer. HR-USC, Peters (13).
