Feb. 14, 2003
Charleston, S.C. – Jared Greenwood doubled down the right field line with one out in the 10th inning Friday to score Brian Buscher from first base and South Carolina defeated James Madison University 7-6 in the ESPN Radio 1340 baseball shootout at Joseph Riley Park. South Carolina designated hitter Hank Parks sent the game into extra innings with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning after James Madison had taken a 6-5 eighth inning lead when Travis Ebaugh scored on a two out wild pitch. Justin Harris led off the bottom of the 10th with a base hit and was forced at second by Buscher. Greenwood, who entered the game in the top of the 10th after starting catcher Landon Powell was lifted for a pinch runner, delivered a line drive just inside the right field foul line to drive in the winning run. Sophomore right-hander Aaron Rawl pitched the final 5 1/3 innings for South Carolina to earn his second win of the season as the Gamecocks improved to 3-1. Kurt Isenberg, 0-1, took the loss in the season opener for James Madison. South Carolina meets Old Dominion at 1:30 p.m., Saturday in the second round of the three day shootout. Old Dominion shut out Vanderbilt 2-0 in the first of three games on Friday. The Citadel, the host team, met Tennessee in the third game.
After James Madison scored an unearned first inning run the Gamecocks took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Landon Powell and a two run home run by freshman first baseman Trey McDaniel. An unearned run widened the lead to 4-1 in the third. JMU tied it in the fourth on a three run homer by Matt Deucher and took a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning on two hits and a sacrifice fly that knocked Gamecock starter Steven Bondurant out of the game.
South Carolina tied the score in the bottom of the sixth. Kevin Melillo doubled and scored on a single by McDaniel, the third RBI for the freshman.
Ebaugh singled in the eighth inning, moved to second base on a sacrifice, to third on an infield out, and scored on a wild pitch to give the Dukes a 6-5 lead. Rawl pitched out of jams in the final two innings including the ninth when James Madison loaded the bases on three gamecock infield errors. South Carolina, which led the nation in fielding last year, committed five errors Friday.
South Carolina out hit James Madison 14-9, led by McDaniel with three. The only other Gamecock with more than one hit was Melillo who had two doubles. Melillo walked in the second inning after his first inning double to reach base for the 12th consecutive plate appearance dating back to the semi-final game of the 2002 College World Series. The streak was broken when Melillo grounded out in the fourth inning.
Mitch Rigsby, Isenburg and Eddie Kim had two hits each for James Madison. Deutcher drove in three and Kim had two RBI.
JAMES MADISON 100 310 010 0 – 6-9-2
SOUTH CAROLINA 301 001 001 1 – 7-14-5
Cochran, Geiser (7), Isenberg (8) and Deuchler. Bondurant, Rawl (5) and Powell, Greenwood (10). W-Rawl (2-0). L-Isenberg (0-1). Save-None. 2B-JMU, Rigsby, Schill; USWC, Melillo 2, Campbell, Coutlangus, Greenwood. HR-JMU, Deuchler (1); USC, McDaniel (1), Parks (1).
