March 28, 2003
Columbia, S.C. – Steven Bondurant bested Jeremy Sowers 2-0 Friday night in a battle of ace left-handed pitchers and South Carolina won the first of a three game Southeastern Conference baseball series.
The Gamecocks broke a four game losing streak and improved to 17-9 overall and 2-5 in the conference. Vanderbilt dropped to 13-11, 2-5. The second game is scheduled for 4 p.m., Saturday at Sarge Frye Field.
The win was the 18th consecutive South Carolina victory over Vanderbilt dating back to 1997 when the Commodores won the first of a three game series. South Carolina has swept Vanderbilt the past five seasons.
Senior Bondurant pitched the first complete game shutout by South Carolina since Kip Bouknight defeated The Citadel 16-0 in the 2001 NCAA regional tournament. His record improved to 3-1 and he dropped his earned run average 3.56. Sowers, who leads the SEC in strikeouts fell to 0-4 but he lowered his earned run average to 2.70.
Sophomore Sowers was the first round draft choice of the Cincinnati Reds in 2001.
Bondurant allowed five hits, struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter. He hit pinch hitter Robert Ransom in the ninth inning. Sowers allowed nine hits, all singles, walked two and struck out eight. Only one of the two Gamecock runs was earned.
South Carolina scored its earned run in the second inning. Hank Parks beat out an infield hit with one out and was forced at second by Justin Harris. Harris raced to third on a hit by Michael Campbell and scored on a hit by Kevin Melillo.
Campbell reached second with one out in the fourth inning when Vanderbilt left fielder John Kaye dropped his fly ball. Campbell moved to third on a passed ball and scored on an infield hit by Jon Coutlangus, one of four infield hits by the Gamecocks.
Vanderbilt had back to back one out hits by Warner Jones and Tony Mansolino in the second inning but Jones was thrown out attempting to advance to third on the Mansolino hit. The Commodores also had two hits in the fourth inning but both runners were left stranded.
Jones had three of the five Vanderbilt hits including a seventh inning double, the only extra base hit by either team. Coutlangus was the only Gamecock with two hits.
South Carolina third baseman Brian Buscher was hitless in four at bats to end his latest hitting streak at 14 games. He has at least one hit in 24 of 26 games this season.
