April 6, 2007
Gainesville, Fla. – Travis Jones collected his second two-homer game of the year and drove in a career-high five runs and behind six scoreless innings and 11 career-high strikeouts from right-handed pitcher Harris Honeycutt, the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated Florida 12-2 on Friday evening at McKethan Stadium. Game two of the series is scheduled for 4 pm and can be heard live on the Gamecock Radio Network and on uscsports.com.
Honeycutt lowered his season ERA to 1.43 with his six shutout innings and limited the Gators to just seven hits. He is now 7-0 this season and 15-0 in his career with the Gamecocks. The 11 strikeouts marked the second time in his career he reached the mark. Florida starter Bryan Augenstein worked 6.1 innings and suffered the loss. He is 3-4 on the year. Augenstein allowed 11 runs, 10 earned on 14 hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.
South Carolina went ahead 1-0 in the first inning with an unearned run off of Augenstein. Harley Lail led off the game with a single, stole second base and would score as Trent Kline hit a short fly ball that was dropped by shortstop Cole Figueroa. That lead extended to 2-0 in the second inning as the Gamecocks put together three consecutive hits with singles from Travis Jones, Reese Havens and Lail. Lail’s opposite field bloop hit scored Jones and gave Carolina a two-run cushion.
Behind a pair of homers, the Gamecocks put four more runs on the board in the third inning to take a 6-0 lead. Andrew Crisp launched a two-run homer for his second round tripper of the season and Travis Jones knocked his fourth of the year, also a two-run shot.
Carolina increased the lead to 8-0 in the fifth inning with two more runs as Robbie Grinestaff doubled in Crisp from first base with pinch runner Cheyne Hurst scoring on a sacrifice fly courtesy of Reese Havens. The Gamecocks put up three more runs in the eighth inning on Jones’ second homer of the game, a three-run shot to left field with one out.
Florida scored a pair of runs off Gamecock reliever Sean Wideberg in the eight inning as Jon Townsend and Clayton Pisani each collected two-out RBI singles. Carolina scored its final run of the game in the ninth inning as Hurst scored on wild pitch issued by Florida reliever J.K. LaCoste.
South Carolina totaled 16 hits and have reached double digits in 11 of the last 12 games. Crisp went 3-for-5 wit two RBI and three runs scored, with Travis Jones also going 3-for-4 with three runs. Harley Lail, James Darnell and Robbie Grinestaff also had two hits apiece. Justin Smoak extended his hitting streak to 12 games as well. The two home runs by Jones marked the second time this season he has tallied a multi-homer game. He hit a pair of home runs at Elon on March 27.
South Carolina will start sophomore LHP Will Atwood in Saturday’s game vs. the Gators. Freshman RHP Blake Cooper will start Sunday’s series finale.
