April 29, 2005
Columbia, S.C. – Josh Donaldson contributed a double and two solo home runs to an eight hit attack Friday night and Auburn defeated South Carolina 4-1 in the first of a three game Southeastern Conference baseball series before 4,912 fans at Sarge Frye Field.
The second game is scheduled for 4 p.m., EDT, Saturday with Zac McCamie, 8-2, 2.22 earned run average, the scheduled South Carolina pitcher against Auburn’s Josh Sullivan, 6-4, 4.14.
Three Auburn pitchers combined to limit South Carolina to five hits, all singles, with Arnold Hughey working 6 1/3 shutout innings to even his season record at 4-4. Hughey allowed four hits, walked two and struck out five as the Tigers improved their record to 27-17, 9-10 in the SEC. John Madden allowed a hit and a run in 1 2/3 innings and Michael Nix worked a three out ninth inning to record his 11th save of the season.
Aaron Rawl pitched eight innings for South Carolina and gave up six hits and all four runs, only three of them earned. Rawl walked one and struck out a career high 12 but saw his season record drop to 7-4. The Gamecocks are 30-12, 10-7.
Auburn scored single runs in the first, second, fourth and sixth innings while South Carolina managed its only run in the eighth inning.
The Tigers scored an unearned run in the first on a Gamecock error and singles by Josh Bell and Jeff Boutwell, the second hit driving in the run. In the second, Donaldson doubled and scored on a hit by Adam Stacey. Donaldson homered in the third and sixth innings to complete the Auburn scoring. The homers were the third and fourth of the season by Donaldson.
South Carolina avoided a shutout when Michael Campbell walked and moved to third on a hit and run single by Steve Pearce with no outs. Ryan Mahoney hit into a rally killing double play with Campbell scoring.
Campbell had a first inning single and the Gamecocks had two hits in the fifth inning, by Chris Brown and Joey Friddle, but left both runners stranded. A walk and a hit by Davy Gregg put two runners on in the seventh, but Madden relieved Hughey and both Gamecock runners were stranded.
Donaldson had three hits and Adam Stacey two for Auburn.
