April 24, 2007
Columbia, S.C. – Justin Smoak and Phil Disher each homered as South Carolina defeated Davidson 6-2 on Tuesday evening at Sarge Frye Field. Carolina improves to 32-10 on the year while the loss drops Davidson to 17-25 this season. The Gamecocks return to action on Wednesday night (April 25) traveling to Clemson with first pitch set for 7:15 pm ET.
Carolina announced a predetermined split before the game with starter Forrest Beverly earning the win after three innings of work. He allowed one run on five hits to improve to 1-0 on the year. Sophomore Mike Cisco relieved Beverly and limited the Wildcats to one run on one hit in four innings of work with five strikeouts and three walks. Reliever Curtis Johnson pitched the final two innings and allowed just one hit to finish the game for the Gamecocks. Davidson starter Rob Wilson suffered the loss and is now 2-6 on the year. He allowed six runs, two earned, on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
Carolina broke out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Smoak extended his hitting streak to 23 games with a solo home run in the second inning. It marked his team-leading 14th of the year and his 31st of his career. The Wildcats tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the third inning. Matt Webb doubled to open the frame and scored on a one-out RBI single from Gregory Zage.
The Gamecocks regained the lead in the bottom half of the third though with a pair of runs. Phil Disher connected for his ninth homer of the year to put the Gamecocks on top again. Travis Jones then reached base on a throwing error by Davidson third baseman Graham Chapman. He would score on a RBI double from Cheyne Hurst.
The lead extended to 4-1 in the fifth inning. Travis Jones reached on a one-out single and would advance to third on a failed pickoff attempt by Davidson pitcher Rob Wilson. Jones would score on a sacrifice fly RBI from Hurst.
After a Davidson run in the sixth inning, the Gamecocks put two more across in the bottom of the sixth inning. Trent Kline hit a one-out single and advanced to second base on a dropped fly by right fielder Blake Osborn. With two outs, Disher would drive both runners in on a triple to left center to increase the Gamecock lead to four runs. Disher finished 2-for-3 with three RBI with Hurst adding two RBI in the game. Trent Kline also tallied a pair of hits. Matt Webb and Gregory Zage each had two hits for the Wildcats.
