Feb. 16, 2002
COLUMBIA, SC –
Jon Coutlangus hit a three run fifth inning home run Saturday to power South Carolina to a come from behind 7-4 win over East Tennessee State and a 2-0 lead in a three game college baseball series.
The final game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Sunday at Sarge Frye Field. The win boosted fifth ranked South Carolina’s record to 5-0 while East Tennessee dropped to 0-2.
Chris Spigner, 1-0, rallied from a shaky first inning in which he allowed all four ETSU runs to claim the win. East Tennessee starter Reid Casey took the loss. Spigner worked seven innings, allowing only three hits after giving up four in the first inning. He struck out seven and walked none. Casey, in six innings, allowed nine hits and six runs, five of them earned. He walked one and struck out five.
Blake Taylor relieved Tony Adler after Adler gave up a hit and missed the strike zone on his first two pitches to Jeremy Terry to begin the East Tennessee ninth inning. Taylor coaxed a double play grounder out of Terry and retired Ryan Hyder on a fly ball to end the game. Taylor was credited with his first save of the season.
South Carolina trailed 4-3 when Steve Thomas and Landon Powell singled to open the bottom of the fifth inning. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice and Coutlangus, the South Carolina center fielder, hit an opposite field drive over the left center field fence for his first home run of the season and a 6-4 Gamecock lead.
The Gamecocks added an unearned run in the seventh inning for the final three run margin.
East Tennessee jumped to a 4-0 first inning lead on four hits and a hit batter. Brian Crouse and Terry had doubles in the inning. Davis Burkin, Crouse, Kirk Keithley and Terry drove in the runs.
South Carolina answered with three runs in the bottom of the first on three hits, including a two run double by Yaron Peters and a ground ball RBI by Trey Dyson, his 10th RBI in five games.
Steve Thomas had three hits, including a double, for South Carolina. Thomas is five for six in the first two games of the series. Coutlangus and Drew Meyer had two hits for the Gamecocks. Justin Harris had a double.
Keithley had two hits for East Tennessee.
EAST TENNESSEE STATE 400 000 000 – 4- 8-1
SOUTH CAROLINA 300 030 10x – 7-10-0
Casey, Simerly (7) and Moore. Spigner, Adler (8), Taylor (9) and Powell. W-Spigner (1-0). L-Casey (0-1). Save-Taylor (1). 2B-ETSU, Crouse, Terry, USC, Harris, Peters, Thomas. HR-USC, Coutlangus (1).
