March 10, 2004
Columbia, S.C. – Michael Campbell drove in four runs with a three run homer and a single Wednesday night and third ranked South Carolina improved its record to 14-0 with a 9-2 win that swept a two game series over Yale.
Jason Fletcher scattered seven hits and allowed two runs, only one earned, over 6 2/3 innings to improve his record to 3-0. He struck out five and walked none. Arik Hempy struck out five without allowing a hit or a walk in 2 1/3 innings of relief. Chris Winkler, 0-1, took the loss as Yale dropped to 1-4 on the season.
Landon Powell had three hits and an RBI for South Carolina. Ryan Mahoney drove in two runs with a pair of singles and Brendan Winn had two hits, including a double as South Carolina collected 14 hits off five Yale pitchers. Steve Reinhold had a double.
Marc Sawyer had three of Yale’s seven hits and drove in a run. The other Bulldog run was driven in by Eric Rasmussen with a sacrifice fly. C. J. Orrico had two hits.
Powell singled and Winn doubled in the second inning ahead of Campbell’s second home run of the season to stake South Carolina to a 3-0 lead. Campbell’s RBI third inning single scored Powell, who had reached on his second hit, to make it 4-1, after Yale had scored in the top of the inning.
Winn singled, advanced to second on a ground out, and scored on a pair of wild pitches in the fifth inning and South Carolina added three runs in the sixth on four hits. Powell drove in one run with his third single of the game and Mahoney had a two RBI single to make it 8-1.
Yale loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh inning. Winn dropped a fly ball by John Janco in right field for an error and Randy Leonard and C. J. Orrico followed with singles. Janco scored on Rasmussen’s sacrifice fly.
South Carolina scored its final run, which was unearned, in the bottom of the eighth. Reinhold doubled, moved to third on a passed ball, and scored when Mark Stanley grounded to second base.
The 10 strikeouts by Fletcher and Hempy increased the 14 game total for the South Carolina pitching staff to 171 against 16 bases on balls, a ratio of more than 10-1.The staff earned run average is 1.73. The Gamecock team batting average is .372.
