The Attack Of The 50-Foot NCAA

posted by Scott Hood, 5/09/2008 03:23:00 PM

So, the expected splash over the Academic Progress Rate (APR) turned out to be nothing more than a mere ripple in the water.

Good.

In my opinion, the NCAA’s unhealthy fascination with the APR is a charade because I’m not convinced the national organization that supposedly governs intercollegiate athletics is all that concerned about the academic performance of student-athletes.

In short, when it comes to academics, the NCAA is all bark and no bite.

First, I have a problem with the term “student-athlete” because it fails to properly capture their most appropriate role within the university. That’s why I refer to players as “revenue generators.”

But I digress.

Instead, here are the four things I believe the NCAA truly cares about:

1. Making money;
2. The continuing existence of the NCAA;
3. Pandering to the TV networks;
4. School nicknames.

If you have any questions about No. 4, please speak with your friends from Newberry College.

If you need evidence of the NCAA’s obsession with making money, look no further than men’s basketball, which, because college football is controlled by the conferences, has become the organization’s cash cow.

Of course, they’ll never admit that because they’re afraid of offending all the other sports. As I’ve said before, the NCAA and political correctness walk hand—in-hand like two young lovers.

The NCAA will earn more than $1 billion from CBS and its various subsidiaries under the current TV deal for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. They get hundreds of millions more from ESPN and the various cable networks.

More than once, Dave Odom told us that Disney (the parent company of ESPN) controlled college basketball. I believe it.

Like any living organism, the NCAA is most interested in survival, which leads us to the APR.

Years ago, when the Alabama football program was about to get sanctioned for numerous rules violations, a national debate erupted as to whether the Crimson Tide should receive the death penalty.

Some said yes, others said no.

I told people then - and I’ll say it again today- that the NCAA would never pull the plug on Alabama football because they were absolutely terrified of the possible consequences.

What “consequences”? Nothing less than the extinction of the NCAA.

Had the death penalty been handed down, the NCAA was afraid Alabama would spearhead a revolt against it and lead to the creation of a rival organization.

Well, it’s the same thing with the APR.

According to the NCAA’s statistics, only 17 of the 123 teams penalized this year came from the six BCS conferences. Many big schools such as USC were granted waivers.

Therefore, don’t look for the APR system to produce much change in college athletics in future years. The big-time programs still dominate the stage, and the NCAA simply won’t do anything to hurt those programs.

But, if you’re a college football fan, there is something you should be worried about.

The NCAA has announced the formation of a Football Academic Review Working Group to “devise recommendations for improving the academic performance of football student-athletes.”

The group is supposed to prepare a final report by April, 2009.

Why should the average college football fan shudder? Because if the final product looks anything like the one prepared by the baseball academic working group a couple of years ago, you can expect to see major changes in college football in the coming years such as reduction in the number of scholarships, reduction in the practice times and the 20-hour rule, reduction in roster sizes and one and on.

Ray Tanner will tell that the changes arising from the recommendations of the baseball group have severely damaged the interests of college baseball.

One of the 30 members of the football working group is Peg Hefferan, the senior women’s athletic administrator at Wagner College.

Why is a women’s athletic director on a committee powerful enough set to change the landscape of major college football?

Your guess is as good as mine.

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The Dawn(ing) Of A New Era

posted by Scott Hood, 5/08/2008 04:05:00 AM

Years from now, I'm sure, we’ll reflect back and say the period of time from April 1 to May 10, 2008 was 40 days that rocked Gamecock Nation.

And possibly changed it forever.

It began, of course, with the solid hiring of Darrin Horn as the new men’s basketball coach. Horn was lured away from his alma mater (Western Kentucky) to take over for Dave Odom just days after leading the Hilltoppers into the Sweet 16.

Less than three weeks later, ground-breaking for the new academic enrichment center (known as the “The Dodie” in honor of the building’s biggest benefactor) was held outside of the Roost in the parking lot that now serves Sarge Frye Field.

Than came the media tour of the $36 million baseball stadium under construction in the Olympia neighborhood. For the first time, USC fans were able to get an up close look at the new state-of-the-art facility.

Finally, the news broke on Wednesday (it was first reported by the Philadelphia media) that Dawn Staley, one of the most recognizable figures in women’s college basketball, will leave her post at Temple and become the new head women’s coach at South Carolina.

That’s a pretty good year crammed into five weeks.

Is this the "dawn" of a new era in Gamecock athletics? Sorry, I couldn't resist.

The hiring of Staley raises this question: has USC ever had a more impressive roster of coaches than they do now? Steve Spurrier, Ray Tanner, Curtis Frye (track and field coach), Horn and Staley are all recognized nationally among the top coaches in their distinct genres.

While some USC fans will hardly raise an eyebrow to the hiring of Staley, I can assure you that in the world of women’s college basketball, it’s huge.

This move has literally put USC on the women’s college basketball map. How Hyman was able to convince Staley to leave her hometown of Philadelphia, where she is a legend, and come to Columbia is beyond me.

I guess that’s why he makes the big bucks.

USC now has two of the best and brightest young basketball coaches in the country. Hopefully, both will remain here for a long time.

Without question, some Gamecock fans will cringe when they find out Staley will earn as much as $650,000 per year as USC’s new women’s hoops coach. Some may even be resistant.

But I view it another way: it’s the cost of doing business in the SEC.

There’s a price to pay for success in the best conference in the country, and USC is footing the bill it right now.

Unfortunately, that price tag will stretch into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Will success be guaranteed, even at that price? No. But the odds just got a little shorter.

Steadily, the pieces are falling into place for the Gamecock athletic department. The aforementioned coaches, as well as the $200 million athletic facilities improvement project now underway, will transform USC over the next decade like nothing we have ever seen before.

As I wrote yesterday, most USC fane are on board when it comes to increased ticket prices, higher donation levels for the Gamecock Club and seat licenses. Some fans, however, are not.

If you’re a Gamecock fan, ask yourself this question: do you want USC to just compete in the SEC, or do you want USC to win in the SEC?

I can assure you Hyman wants to win. Very badly. As a result, mediocrity will no longer be tolerated.

In my view, with all this money Gamecock fans are pledging to the USC athletic department for facilities, coaches’ salaries and other expensive things, they’re gaining something very valuable in return.

And that’s the right to demand excellence.

That’s the way it is at some of the schools in the SEC. Fans at Georgia, Tennessee and Florida are required to pay a lot of money to watch their respective teams play. In return, they expect to win. If their teams don’t, heads roll and new blood is brought in.

It hasn’t always been that way in Columbia. Some administrators and fans were content with the status quo, to keep floating along without any desire for sustained success. In short, there was no sense of urgency.

It’s different now.

The best coaches have been hired. The athletic facilities USC needs to compete against the larger, wealthier schools of the SEC are bring constructed or will soon be.

Time is growing short.

Soon, there will be no more excuses.

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USC-Wofford Game Blog - Wed. 5/7

posted by Scott Hood, 5/07/2008 06:48:00 PM

9:55 - Parker Bangs come on to pitch the B9. Tanner isn't fooling around here. K for the 1st out. K for the second out. Here comes Tanner. Jordan Costner coming into the game. 3-1. Walk. Ugh. 2-0. Strike. 2-1. Single to lF. Run scores. F-9. GAME OVER. USC WINS 10-5.

9:50 - USC scores a run in the T9 on a RBI groundout by Havens. WE go to the B9 with USC leading 10-4. USC had 16 hits on the night. USC will improve to 34-15 overall entering this weekend's series at Arkansas. The team will fly to Fayetteville Thursday via commercial.

9:45 - Brandon Todd isn't fooling anybody right now. There's a double to deep CF. Merrifield almost made a nice catch. But 2 runs score. It's 9-4 USC. There's a 1-4-3 groundout for the final out. WE GO TO THE NINTH WITH USC LEADING 9-4.

9:40 - Todd has surrendered singles to his first three batters. Wofford has a run in and runners on the corners with 1 out. USC leads 9-2 in the B8.

9:35 - We have 1 out in the B8. Here comes Tanner. Brandon Todd coming in to pitch. This will be his 14th appearance of the season.

9:30 - We have 2 outs in the T8. Lail up. He belts one to deep CF. It's gone! Home run for Lail, his 5th of the season. Solo HR. That's USC's first run since the third inning. We go to the B8 with USC leading 9-1. USC has 15 hits, Wofford 4. Farotto still pitching for USC.

9:25 - Farotto works a perfect 1-2-3 in the B7. 2 K's and a F-9. We go to the T8 with USC leading 8-1.

9:20 - USC had runners at the corners with 2 outs inthe T7 but didn't score thanks to an excellent play by the Wofford SS on a grounder by Smoak. Earlier, Crisp singled and Havens was HBP. But USC didn't score. We go to the B7 with USC leading 8-1.

9:08 - Farotto K's the final batter. We go to the T7 with USC leading 8-1.

9:05 - Farotto comes in throwing gas. He K's the first batter. But he walks the second hitter. Bases loaded, 1 out. USC needs a DP here to preserve the shutout. 3-0. There's a strike. Foul. 3-2. F-7 for the SF. Run scores. It's 8-1 USC.

8:55 - Two walks to open the B6 have ended Dyson's night. LHP Alex Farotto comes on for USC. Wofford had 2 runners on, 0 outs in the B6. USC leads 8-0.

8:45 - USC down 1-2-3 in the T6. 5-3, 5-3, X-3. We go to the B6 with USC ahead, 8-0. Dyson comes out for the 6th. It looks like he will take the team lead in wins with 6. Four other pitchers have five wins apiece.

8:40 - Dyson works a perfect B5 with a F-8, K, P-3. We go to the T6 with USC ahead, 8-0. New pitcher for Wofford. The last guy did pretty well, holding USC scoreless for two innings.

8:30 - Consecutive singles by Merifield and Smoak with 2 outs in the T5. The top three hitters in USC's order have already had four plate appearances apiece and we're only in the fifth. 3-2 on Darnell. Runners will be moving. Line drive to CF. Wofford CF makes a sliding ctach. The umps don't make a call right away. They';re talking about it. Now they say it's an out, We go to the B5 with USC leading, 8-0.

8:20 - Wofford managed to get runners on the corners with 2 outs in the B4 on a pir of singles. But Dyson worked out of the jam with a F-7. We go to the T5 with USC ahead, 8-0.

8:15 - USC down 1-2-3 in the T4. 6-3, 4-3, K. We go to the B4 with USC leading 8-0.

8:10 - Wofford gets a 2-out single in the B3 but that's it. We go to the T4 with USC leading 8-0. New pitcher for Wofford. He's a LHP.

8:00 - Disher grounds out 5-3 for the third out in the T3. Dyson has an 8-0 lead as we go to the B3. As long as he lasts three more innings, he should pick up his 8th win of the season.

7:55 - USC has another run here in the T3. Mack walked and, with 1 out, Havens drove a double into RF on a hit-and-run. Mack scored onthe play. It's 7-0 USC. Merrifield 5-3. Smoak up. Single to RF! Here comes Havens. He scores with a great slide. It's 8-0 USC. USC has 11 hits.

7:45 - Wofford has a runner at 2B with 2 outs in the B2. Dyson is throwing well tonight, although he drilled a batetr with a 90 mph fastball. That had to hurt. Dyson just blew a fastball past the final batter. We go to the T3 with USC leading, 6-0.

7:40 - Crisp singles to LF. Here comes Smoak. Here comes the throw. He's out! Not again!! That's the third time Smoak has been gunned down at the plate within the last week. We go to the B2 with USC leading 6-0.

7:35 - Darnell pops up to first. 1 out. Disher up. Base hit to LF! A blooper. Merrifield scores easily. It's 6-0 USC. Lail F-8. 2 outs. Crisp up. Runners on 1&2.

7:30 - Here we go again. Merrifield leads off the T2 with a double down the 3B line. Smoak up. He walked the last time. They're telling us that the play on Lail's ball in the T1 has officially been ruled a FC. He does get credit for a RBI. Smoak walks. Runners on 1&2, 0 outs for Darnell. Could be another big inning for USC.

7:25 - A 4-6-3 DP ends the B1. We go to the T2 with USC ahead 5-0.

7:20 - USC finally out in the T1. USC leads 5-0. They had 7 hits in the inning and sent 10 men to the plate. Sam Dyson has a 5-run lead to work with.

7:15 - Crisp out 1-3. Mack up. He singles to CF! 2 runs score! USC leads 5-0. Wingo up. He bunts. The ball sails past 1B. Error. Runners on 2&3, 2 outs. Havens up again. USC leads 5-0. Here comes the Wofford coach. The P stays in.

7:10 - Darnell up. 2-2. Base hit right through the Wofford 3B. Two runs score! USC leads 2-0. Runners on 1&2, 0 outs. Disher up. Darnell now has 67 RBI. Disher singles to LF! Bases loaded. Lail bloops one to CF. It falls for a hit! But Darnell doesn't leave 2B. He's forced at 3B. Lail ends up with a FC. Smoak scores. It's 3-0 USC. 1 out for Crisp.

7:08 - Smoak walks on 4 pitches. That was an unintentional intentional walk. I don't think the Wofford pitcher wanted any piece of Smoak. Bases loaded for Darnell. He's batting .309.

7:07 - That didn't take long. Havens rifles the first pitch into LF for a single. He now has 72 hits on the season. Merrifield singles to RF. Runners on 1&2, 0 outs. Here comes Smoak.

7:05 - We're almost ready for baseball here at Russell King Field. Wofford is taking its final warmups. Havens steps in. Let's play ball.

6:55 - We're here at Russell King Field on the campus of Wofford College for tonight's USC-Wofford baseball game. Here is USC's starting lineup:

Havens - 6
Merrifield - 8
Smoak - 3
Darnell- 5
Disher - 2
Lail- 9
Crisp - 7
Mack - DH
Wingo - 4

Dyson - P (5-0, 4.33 ERA, 27.0 IP, 21 hits, 14 euns, 26 K, 18 BB, .231 OBA)

Believe it or not, Dyson can become the winningest pitcher on the staff with a win tonight. Enders is still plagued by a sore arm, so Disher gets the start at catcher again.

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Mini Q&A: Sammy Esposito

posted by Brian Shoemaker, 5/07/2008 10:23:00 AM

Wayne Turner of GamecockCentral.com recently spoke with USC volunteer assistant coach Sammy Esposito.

Esposito is in his first season with the USC program. He spent two seasons on the Georgia Southern staff before coming to Columbia. He was a four-year letterman at N.C. State, where he was coached by his father, Sam Esposito. His father also coached Ray Tanner, who was an assistant coach and later head coach at N.C. State, before coming to USC.

GamecockCentral.com: You played for your dad at N.C. State. Was he the reason you decided to get into coaching?

Sammy Esposito: Pretty much. You know, as a younger kid, I was always around it. I knew going into college that was one of the things I wanted to do. Sports was the only real thing that excited me.

GC: Coach Tanner played and coached for your dad. What do you remember about those days?

SE: Yes, briefly, as a little kid running around there. But not much because he came down here when I was in my junior year of high school. But when he coached there I would go over and watch all off the games.

GC: This is your first year as volunteer assistant coach. Describe what your responsibilities are?

SE: You’re basically a full-time assistant coach, but you just don’t get paid. My route of making money is through the camps. I help Coach Tanner with his camps, the same thing Coach Lee did the past few years. I can help out when they have recruits on campus, but I can’t go on the road to recruit.

GC: Do you enjoy the work with the camps?

SE: I’ve always enjoyed working with the kids. I’ve done that every summer and I’ve even gone up to Cape Cod for six to eight weeks and worked there. It’s really awesome working with the kids.

GC: Last week, the media as well as you coaches toured the new baseball stadium. What are your thoughts on how that is coming along?

SE: It’s going to be awesome. It’s neat to see the whole process. I go over every couple of weeks and it’s always something new going on. It’s amazing to look at the blueprints and then see it going up. It’s going to be an unbelievable facility.

GC: How do you think it will affect recruiting, which has been pretty good without it?

SE: It can only make it better. Kids like new, bigger things. The program is already up there. This just puts it up there even higher. That’s always been the big thing in sports. You see it in football. Who has the new and flashy stadium? It’s one more factor for the kids to consider. It may be the one thing that pushes that kid to us.

GC: Where do you see you coaching career going?

SE: To be honest, I really haven’t thought about it much. Obviously, somewhere down the road you’d like to move from a volunteer to a full-time assistant, wherever that may be. That’s the goal, to keep moving on up. Hopefully, it will be here with Coach Tanner and these great fans as well as administration. This is just an unbelievable place, to be with these guys every day.

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College Athletics and The Ring of Fire

posted by Scott Hood, 5/06/2008 02:51:00 AM

Unfortunately, there’s still a few South Carolina fans out there who still don’t get it.

One of them – an older gentleman - called the afternoon sports talk show hosted by Jay Phillips and Duce Staley on 107.5 FM on Monday afternoon.

He said – if I recall correctly – that he had been a Gamecock Club member for 40 years. His contention was this: why should I have to pay more for tickets and other things (Gamecock Club dues, etc.) when USC can’t beat Clemson in football.

Phillips politely tried (at least in the beginning) to explain to him that the cost of doing business in the SEC (i.e. winning championships) was very expensive and USC had to catch up to the other schools it was mainly competing against – Georgia, Florida and Tennessee.

Of course, the whole SEC thing flew right over the caller’s head. He continued to argue that he shouldn’t be obligated to pay anything more out of his pocket until USC started beating Clemson in football.

As I listened, the phrase ‘living in the past’ entered my mind. The caller was clearly caught in a time warp. Not once did he mention USC beating any of its competitors in the SEC. In fact, I wondered if he even knew USC was in the SEC, No, it was all about Clemson.

While I realize the caller is probably in the minority when it comes to a lack of understanding of how modern college athletics works, it was still a little bit disturbing (and sad, actually) to hear a long-time USC fan essentially admit over the public airwaves that he wasn’t willing to pay the price for SEC success.

That’s fine, though, because it’s the caller’sright to say enough is enough and walk away.

Phillips had a clever expression to describe the mentality represented by the caller – they want SEC success at Conference USA prices.

During my ride to Lancaster for the Gamecock Club meeting, I called Phillips and we spoke for approximately 30 minutes about the call.

I had a suggestion – the next time someone like the gentleman on Monday calls into his school, simply ask them if they knew the total amount of money the USC athletic department was planning on spending over the next several years to upgrade the facilities in order to give the Gamecock athletic teams a better chance to win in the hyper-competitive SEC.

In case you didn’t know, here’s the figure: $200 million.

If that number shocks you, then you need to start paying closer attention. Also, welcome to the world of big-time college athletics.

And that was the figure we were given two years ago. Taking inflation into account, the figure might be even greater today. In fact, you can bet on it. By the time some of these facilities are actually built, the final cost might be substantially more than initially projected.

Here’s another good question for Phillips to ask: where does the caller think all that money is going to come from? The Legislature? Forget it. The City? No. Anyone in government? Heck, no.

The correct answer? The Gamecock fan base, of course. Wealthy donors first, followed by the multitudes of the less wealthy.

USC fans – no matter their age – have to understand there is a major arms race going on right now in college athletics when it comes to facilities. Some of USC’s competitors in the SEC have already constructed state-of-the-art facilities for their sports teams to compete in.

And they did so years ago.

But USC is just starting the process now. As a result, it has a lot of catching up to do.

But the reality of the SEC when it comes to football is this: the schools with the biggest budgets, the biggest stadiums and the best facilities are the ones that win consistently.

USC has the capability of joining that group, but it will take the Gamecock Nation digging a little deeper into its pocketbooks.

I sympathize with the caller a little bit because the age of innocence (if there ever was one) in college athletics has faded into history. As I’ve said before, there is very little difference today between pro sports and big-time college athletics.

The USC football team is, for all intents and purposes, a professional football franchise. The only difference is the players aren’t getting paid in the sense they don’t get a paycheck every week. Their scholarship serves as compensation for service rendered.

University athletic departments are multi-million enterprises. In fact, if you can envision USC athletic director Eric Hyman as the CEO of a $60 million corporation, you’re on the right track to understanding what Division I college athletics is all about.

College athletics is a business. Big business.

I’ll keep it simple: money rules.

There is no chicken-and-the-egg scenario here. The MONEY always comes first in big-time college athletics. Once the money is there, the facilities follow.

And then long-term success will flow.

Of course, that’s not guaranteed. But you have to jump through the first two hoops (money and facilities) before getting a crack at jumping through the third (long-term success).

When you get there, you just have to hope it’s not a ring of fire.

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Taking Stock Of The Gamecock Baseball Team

posted by Scott Hood, 5/05/2008 12:52:00 AM

One week ago, as I meandered my way back from Baton Rouge, La. following South Carolina’s sweep at the hands of LSU, I took stock of the USC baseball team and where it stood.

At the time, USC was 11-10 in the SEC, a disappointing mark for one of the more talented teams in the league. Questions began to creep in as to whether the Gamecocks would even qualify for the SEC Tournament.

In my opinion, this past weekend’s series against Florida would tell the tale. Were the Gamecocks for real? A series loss to the Gators and USC would have been .500 at best heading into Fayetteville to face a desperate Arkansas team fighting for to make the post-season.

After the 9-3 loss to the Gators on Friday night extended USC’s losing streak to four games, I wouldn’t have blamed any USC fan for being pessimistic. Frankly, the Gamecocks looked terrible. They played with little energy or emotion.

The storm clouds continued to hover on Saturday through the first five innings when Florida led, 5-3. Again, there was little life in the Gamecocks or the sell-out crowd on hand.

Then, all of a sudden, the skies cleared.

It began innocently enough when one of USC’s most exciting players, freshman Whit Merrifield did what he does best – bunt the baseball. He beat the throw to first, as he typically does.

But the ball sailed beyond the bag and Merrifield scampered to second on the throwing error. Moments later, he scored on a double by Justin Smoak to cut Florida’s lead to 5-4.

The score stayed that way until the seventh. That’s when James Darnell delivered one of the biggest hits of his career, a two-run single that gave USC the lead for the first time in the series at 6-5.

For possibly the first time over the course of the first two games of the series, USC fans had a reason to cheer loudly.

Will Atwood closed the game with five flawless innings for USC’s second complete game of the season. He certainly picked a good time for that.

The losing streak was over.

In Sunday’s rubber game, USC fell behind 5-3 in the middle of the fifth inning, but responded with four runs in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead for good.

It was gut check time, and the Gamecocks passed with flying colors. They got what they desperately needed - a series win.

So, after beating the Gators, where do the Gamecocks go from here? They still have plenty of work to do. Yes, they’re 13-11, but a berth in the SEC Tournament is still far from a sure thing.

By this time next week, we’ll be talking about how USC did in its series at Arkansas. Without question, the road has been a difficult place for USC to play since the middle of March.

The fact they’re even 4-8 on the road in conference play this season is due largely to the three-game sweep over Auburn on the Plains. USC is 1-7 in the other three series.

Arkansas is one-half game behind Kentucky and Tennessee in the race for the final berth in the SEC Tournament. You know the Razorbacks will come ready to play. USC will need to answer the intensity I expect Arkansas will bring to the ballpark.

In my opinion, USC will close out the regular season with a 6-2 or 7-1 record in the final eight games. I think USC will sweep Tennessee on the final weekend, but they’re very hard to come by in the SEC. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tennessee won one game because that’s the nature of the conference.

Let’s say USC goes 7-1 and finishes with 40 regular season victories. I think that would be good enough to host a NCAA Regional.

How about hosting a Super Regional? Based on USC’s history over the last decade, getting to Omaha could hinge on whether USC hosts a Super Regional. If they do, their chances improve dramatically.

But earning the right to do that may prove extremely difficult, considering the SEC will likely not receive more than two national seeds, and Georgia and Vanderbilt are ahead of USC in the standings and they both beat the Gamecocks head-to-head.

In my opinion, the only realistic chance USC has to earn a national seed at this point is to finish at least 7-1 in the regular season and then win at least three games in the SEC Tournament and advance as far as the tournament championship game.

If USC accomplished that, the Gamecocks would head into the NCAA Tournament with a minimum of 43 or 44 victories.

That would be a great season for most Division I teams, but for a fan base spoiled by three consecutive trips to the College World Series earlier this decade, would another year without a trip to Omaha pass without unrest? I doubt it.

The final days of Sarge Frye Field are going to be interesting, maybe even fun.

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USC-Florida Game 3 Blog - Sun. 5/4

posted by Scott Hood, 5/04/2008 12:02:00 PM

4:55 - 14th appearance of the season for Bangs. He's 3-2 with a 3.22 ERA. All relief appearances. Cooper up. Strike. Bangs has a sweeping curve. Ball. Foul. 1-2. Ball. 2-2. Strike Three!!!!!!! USC WINS 9-6. Save for Bangs. USC is 13-11 in the SEC.

4:50 - 1 out to go. 1-1 on den Dekker. There's a line shot into RCF. Double. Runner on 2nd, 2 outs. Now it's 2-1 on Barber. He has a HR today. 3-1. Godwin needs to rally here. Walk. Tying run comes to the plate. Here comes Tanner. Here comes Parker Bangs to face Riley Coopr, who has 2 HR in the series.

4:45 - Godwin backout for the 9th. He does a good job today. He's the pitcher of record. There's a drive to deep RF. Lail makes the ctach up against the wall! 1 out. Big out right there. Great play by Wingo!! 4-3 for the 2nd out. 1 out to go.

4:40 - Darnell K's. 2 outs. Disher up. He's 4-for-4 today. A fifth hit would set a career high. Wild pitch. Smoak goes to third. Insurance run is 90 feet away. UF will now IBB Disher. Runners at 1&3, 2 outs for Lail. Here comes the UF pitcher. Pitcher stays in. Lail up. 3-2 count. Disher will be off with the pitch. He lines one foul to LF. F-9 for the third out. WE GO TO THE NINTH WITH USC LEADING 9-6.

4:35 - Merrifield F-9. 1 out. Smoak up. He walks for the third time today. 44 walks for Smoak this seaosn. There's a stolen base for Smoak! 2nd SB of his career. The hit-and-run was on. Darnell up.

4:30 - Line drive to Wingo at 2B! He snags it and throws to first for the DP! USC is out of the inning. We go to the B8 with USC leading 9-6.

4:25 - Umpire rules UF batter was hit by a pitch. Tanner is out arguing. But to no avail. UF has a runner on 1st with 1 out. Leadoff batter up. He's batting .392 this seaosn. Big at-bat for Godwin. Base hit to LF. Runners on 1&2, 1 out.

4:20 - USC down 1-2-3 in the B7. The 7th inning didn't take much time at all. We go to the T8 with USC ahead, 9-6. Godwin still pitching for USC. P-6 for the 1st out. Godwin has retired 6 in a row.

4:15 - 1-2-3 for Godwin in the T7. That's the first perfect inning of the game for either team. We go to the B7 with USC leading 9-6.

4:10 - Lail F-8 and Crisp X-3. We go to the T7 with USC leading, 9-6. USC has 12 hits today. Godwin still pitching.

4:00 - Smoak walks with 1 out. Darnell up. He wallops one to LF. It's gone! 2-run HR gives USC a 9-6 lead. 15th HR of the season for Darnell. He has 65 RBI. Disher singles to CF! That's 4 hits for him today, tying his career high for hits. Here comes the UF coach. New pitcher coming in.

3:50 - UF comes back with a run here in the T6 on a SF to LF. An infield single and bloop single to CF had put runners on the corners with 1 out. 2 outs now with 1 runner on. Wild pitch. 1-3 for the third out. UF scores one run. We go to the B6 with USC leading 7-6.

3:40 - Havens pops to 2B for the final out. The VERY LONG fifth inning is finally over. It took 35-40 minutes to play the 5th inning. The good news id USC leads 7-5 after scoring four times in the B5. We go to the T6. Hopefully, the pace of the game will pick up.

3:35 - Here comes the UF coach again. That's it for Mullaney. A LHP will come into the game with a 2-1 count on Havens. USC leads 7-5 in the B5. We've passed the 2-hour mark.

3:33 - Great at-bat by Crisp. SF to CF drives in Disher with the go-ahead run. USC leads 6-5. Mack up. Wild pitch. Lail to 2B. Mack is 0-for-2 today with 2 K's. He scorches down the 1B line. It gets past the 1B!! Lail scores from 2B. USC leads 7-5. Nice response to the 2 runs scored by UF in the T5. Wingo is hit by a pitch! 14th time this season. Here comes the UF coach. The pitcher stays in.

3:30 - New pitcher for UF. Kyle Mullaney. Darnell up. 6-3. Disher up. He's 2-for-2 today. He rips one to RF. It;s off the wall. He strolls into second with a double. He needs a triple for the cycle. Base hit for Lail! He snaps out of the slump. First hit of the series for him. Good time for it. Runners at 1&3, 1 out. Score tied 5-5.

3:20 - Merrifield singles to open the B5. He's 2-for-3 today. Good start for USC. Here comes Smoak. He wallops the first pitch over the LF wall for a 2-run HR!!! 58th career HR for Smoak. The score is tied at 5-5.

3:15 - Delayed steal by UF. He's out. The bizarre T5 is finally over. The 3 outs came via 2 pickoffs and a caught stealing. But UF scores twice to take a 5-3 lead. We go to the B5. That might be one of the most bizarre innings you'll see. A batter wasn't even retired.

3:10 - Line drive single under the glove of Havens at SS. UF leads 5-3. That was the score yesterday when USC began its comeback. Parker Bangs is warmingup inthe bullpen. Another pickoff at first!! Wow!! Godwin helping himself here. The UF coach comes out to argue. He loses the argument. 2 outs in the T5.

3:08 - Leadoff bloop single to CF for UF in the T5. Godwin walks the second batter. Base hit to CF. Run scores. UF leads 4-3. No outs in the T5. Runners on the corners. Godwin in trouble here. He needs to make a big pitch here. Pickoff at first! Wow. 1 out. Godwin has a great pickoff move for a RHP.

3:00 - Wingo lines a single to RF! Runners on the corners for Havens. But there's a 4-6-3 DP. UF gets out of it. We go to the T5 with the score tied at 3-3.

2:55 - Crisp leads off the B4 with a single to center. Here comes the UF coach. There is some action in the UF bullpen. Mack up.

2:50 - Godwin comes in and does the job. He gets out of the inning with a 6-3 groundout. We go to the B4 with the score tied at 3-3. Crisp, Mack, Wingo due.

2:45 - Another walk. The 5th of the game for Cooper. Here comes Tanner. That's it for Cooper. Goodwin comes in from the bullpen. His second consecutive relief appearance after 9 starts. Bases loaded, 2 outs.

2:40 - Cooper is struggling here in the T4. 2 outs. He walks the No. 9 hitter. Stolen base! No one covered. UF has 10 stolen bases this weekend. Poor communication there. Leadoff hitter up. Godwin warming up in the USC bullpen. 3-2 on the leadoff hitter. Ball 4. But the umps say the ball hit the batter. USC catches a break because the runner on 2nd was off to the races. Tunners on 1&2, 2 outs. Cooper is laboring. Godwin still throwing inthe bullpen.

2:38 - There's another HR by UF. Riley Cooper, also a FB player at UF, hammers a pitch over the LF wall. It's tied at 3-3.

2:35 - With i out, Cooper serves up a single to RF and a two-run HR to Bryson Barber over the RF fence. It's 3-2 USC in the T4. Calvi out to talk with Cooper.

2:32 - Lail lines to the 3B. That's how it's going for the Indian Land native. He's 0-for-10 in the series, 5-for-46. We go to the T4 with USC leading 3-0.

2:30 - Darnell lines one right at the UF CF. Hard hit ball. But no luck. Disher up. He homered the last time. Disher rips one to RF! It's off the wall. Disher is held to a single and Smoak goes to third. 1&3, 2 outs for USC. Here comes the UF coach for a chat with Keating. Lail up.

2:25 - Merrifield leads off the B3. L-6 on first pitch. Smoak up. USC is not afraid to swing at the first pitch. Keating is a pitcher who likes to get ahead in the count, so USC is trying to neutralize that. 3-1 on Smoak. Good hitter's count. He walks. That's his 42nd walk this year.

2:18 - 1-out single by UF in the T3. Stolen base, UF's ninth of the series. 4-3 groundout. Runner to 3rd. Figueroa up. He's given USC fits this series. 3-0. Cooper is definitely being careful here. Two strikes. Full count 3-2. 6-3 groundout. Nice comeback by Cooper. We go to the B3 with USC leading 3-0.

2:10 - 2 outs here in the B2. Crisp P-6, Mack K. Wingo up. USC is 17-8 this season when it scores in the first inning and 24-8 when they score first. Wingo walks. Havens P-5 for the final out. We go to the T3 with USC leading 3-0.

2:00 - The homeplate umpire has a fairly tight strike zone today. Some of his calls on Cooper have been questionable. Walk with 1 out. Cooper picks the runner of first!! There's poetic justice. 5-3 for the 3rd out. Nice play by Darnell. We go to the B2 with USC leading 3-0. Crisp, Mack, Wingo due.

1:53 - Darnell P-4 for the 1st out. Disher up. He's belts a laser beam towards LCF. It's over the wall! 2-run HR. No. 16 for Disher. USC leads 3-0. Great start for the Gamecocks. Keating is throwing a lot of pitches here in the B1. Lail K. We go to the T2 with USC leading 3-0.

1:50 - Havens leads off for USC. He's 2-for-8 in the series with 3 runs and 1 HR. He walks for the 47th time. I'm guessing Merrifield will be sacrificing here. There's a bunt. It's a beauty!! Right down the 3B line. Merrifield reaches base. Runners at 1&2, 0 outs for Smoak. Potential big ining. Chopper to first. Throw to 2B for the force. But the relay throw goes into the USC dugout! No one covered first! Havens scores. It's 1-0 USC.

1:42 - Another walk by Cooper. Here comes Tanner for a quick chat. Cooper is missing with fastball early. Cooper entered today's game with just 14 BB in 64.0 IP, so he's already he's already reached his quota. Strikeout looking. Blew the fastball by him! We go to the B1 with the score 0-0.

1:40 - 5-3 for the first out. There's a grounder towards RF. Great play by Wingo! 4-3 for the 2nd out. He showed great range right on that play. Walk with 2 outs. Cooper just missed with a 3-2 curveball. Cooper falls behind 3-0 to the cleanup hiter.

1:38 - We're just about ready for baseball. The nationalanthem has been played. Blake Cooper is going through his final warm-ups. The first UF batter steps in. We're playing baseball.

12:50: Here are the SEC East standings heading into Sunday's action:

Georgia 16-6-1
Vanderbilt 13-9
Florida 13-10
South Carolina 12-11
Kentucky 11-12
Tennessee 11-12

A win today by USC would catapult them to 3rd place in the division, since they would own the tie-breaker over UF. Vanderbilt will remain second because they worst they can be is 13-10, 1/2 game ahead. UGA has a 3.5 game lead. USC is 7-3 on Sundays this year. USC is 23-7 at home.

12:35 - Here is USC's starting lineup today with current stats:

Havens - 6 (.384-13 HR-44 RBI)
Merrifield - 8 (.307-3-20)
Smoak - 3 (.400-18-53)
Darnell - 5 (.312-14-63)
Disher - 2 (.291-15-44)
Lail - 9 (.251-4-22)
Crisp - 7 (.311-1-13)
Mack - DH (.254-4-11)
Wingo - 4 (.218-6-13)

Cooper - P (5-4, 3.52 ERA, 64.0 IP, 69 hits, 31 runs, 31 K, 14 BB, .279 OBA)

Enders is out, replaced by Mack at DH. This is the first time this season Disher has caught 2 consecutive games. Cooper is 12-6 overall, 9-1 at home, in his career. So, I like USC's chances.

12:10 - We're here at Sarge Frye Field for today's rubber game of the 3-game series between USC and Florida. Another huge game for the Gamecocks. They're facing an unbeaten pitcher today in UF's Patrick Keating. He's 8-0 with a 2.69 ERA. However, other than his W-L record and ERA, his numbers aren't dominating. He's allowed 69 hits in 60.1 IP and fanned 38 compared to 14 walks. The OBA is .289. It sounds like he's a control pitcher (sinker?) that simply lets his defense make plays behind him. Blake Cooper will start for USC today. He's 5-4 with a 3.52 ERA in 64.0 IP. He'e yielded 69 hits with 31 K's and 14 BB.

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USC-Florida Baseball Game 2 Blog

posted by Scott Hood, 5/03/2008 03:18:00 PM

6:25 - Atwood is back out. He'll try to finish it out. This would be the first complte game of his career. Strikeout. 1 out. K 2-3. 2 outs. This would be a huge win for USC. And much-needed. 7 K's today for Atwood. X-5. USC WINS 6-5!!! USC is 12-11 in SEC.

6:20 - Great play by the UF 2B to start a 4-6-3 DP to end the B8. WE GO TO THE NINTH WITH USC AHEAD, 6-5.

6:15 - Enders singles again. He's 2-for-4. He's showing signs of breaking out of his slump. Pinch-runner for Enders. USC has 13 hits to 11 for UF. Here comes the UF coach. There's the call to the bullpen. UF will bring in a lefty to face Wingo. We have 1 out, 1 on in the B8 with USC leading, 6-5.

6:10 - F-9 for the first out in the T8. There's base hit to RCF. The runners is going for 2nd. Merrifield throws. He's out!! What a play by Merrifield. May be the defensive play of the year. 5-3 for the third out. We go to the B8 with USC leading 6-5.

:05 - Darnell has 63 RBI this year. Disher up. K swinging. Lail up. He's been struggling. He's 0-for-7 in the series. 4-3 on a nic eplay by the UF 2B. We go to the T8 with USC leading 6-5.

6:02 - Darnell up. Strike. Ball in the dirt. Almost a wild pitch. USC now has more hits that UF, 11-10. USC has never led in this game. Base hit to LF!!! 2 RUNS SCORE. USC Leads 6-5. Darnell delivers!!

6:00 - Merrifield chops one down the 3B line. It gets past the UF 3B!! Havens goes to third. Merifield pulls into 2B. It's ruled a double. Smoak up. IBB. USC will have the bases loaded with 1 out for Darnell. Big situation here. Here comes the UF coach. Will he make a change? No. Darnell K'd the last time. He needs a clutch hit here.

5:55 - Havens walks with 1 out. The UF 3B is well in. They're thinking bunt. Maybe Arby's too. Havens just gets back. That was close.

5:50 - Another 1-2-3 inning for Atwood. He's set down 10 in a row. We go to the B7 with USC trailing, 5-4. Wingo, Havens, Merrifield due.

5:45 - 1-out single by Crisp. Hit and run. Crisp is thrown out at 2B. 2 outs. Enders up. F-7. We go to the T7 with UF ahead, 5-4.

5:40 - Another 1-2-3 inning for Atwood. He's set down 7 in a row. We go to the B6 with USC trailing, 5-4.

5:32 - Darnell K's swinginh. Disher up. Tanner is talking to him. Disher needs a clutch hit here. He's 0-for-6 in the series. He swings at a curve in the dirt. Base hit to LF! Here comes Smoak. He slides. Out! Smoak has been thrown out at the plate twice today. We go to the T6 with UF leading 5-4.

5:30 - New pitcher for UF. He'll face Darnell with 1 out, 1 runner on and 1 run already in this inning. UF leads 5-4. New pitcher is Josh Edmondson, who also hails from LaGrange, Ga. I'm sure he knows Blake Mitchell.

5:27 - Merrifield up with 1 out. He bunts. The ballis thrown past 1B!! Merrifield goes to 2B. Smoak up and he represents the tying run. He rips a double to LF! Merrifield scores. It's 5-4 UF with Darnell due. That's Smoak's 51st career 2B, tying him for 5th on the all-time list. Here comes the UF coach for a chat.

5:25 - 1-2-3 for Awood in the T5. We go to the B5 with USC trailing, 5-3.

5:15 - Wingo K''s looking for the 3rd out in the B4. We go to the T5 with UF leading, 5-3. USC can't allow any more runs here. Time to buckle down defensively and on the mound.

5:10 - Crisp reaches on E6 with 2 outs in the B4. Here comes the UF coach. Enders up. He's beemn struggling. Base hit to RF! Runners at 1&2, 2 outs in B4. Wingo up.

5:05 - Strikeout for the 3rd out. Atwood finally gets outof it. We go to the B4 with USC trailing, 5-3. UF has 10 hits, USC 5.

5:00 - Here's Figueroa. He lines one right at Atwood. The ball ricochets off his shin. The runner from third scores. It's 5-3 UF. 4 straight hits with 2 outs. These guys are uncanny. UF doesn't overwhelm you, but they get the job done. Atwood needs to get out of this w/out any further daamge.

4:55 - Nice play by Havens for the second out in the T4. But an infield single to the hole, Havens mamaged to glove the ball but his throw was a bit wide. It goes as base hit. Base hit to CF. Somehow that ball got through. Runners at 1&2. Base hit to LF. Here comes the runner. He's safe. UF leads 4-3. Another 2-out rally by UF. 3 straight hits with 2 outs.

4:50 - Darnell up. He rips one into the LF gap! Merrifield scores. It's 3-3. Monte Lee sends Smoak. But he's thrown out by 10 feet. Ouch. But USC manages to tie the game with some 2-out lightning. It's 3-3 as as we go to the T4. The crowd is back into it.

4:47 - 2 outs here in the B3. Base hit for Havens into RF. Single. Extends his hitting streak to 17 games. Chopper by Merrifield. The UF 3B can't handle it! USC has runners at 1&2 for Smoak. Base hit to LF! Havens scores. It's 3-2 UF. Finally, some life from the Gamecocks.

4:42 - F-7 for the third out. We go to the B3 with UF leading, 3-1. UF has 6 hits through 3 Inn.

4:40 - 1-out single by Figueroa in the T3. There he goes. Stolen base, UF's 7th of the series. F-7 to deep LCF. Runner to third with 2 outs. Chopper up the middle. It gets through! RBI. Run scores. UF leads 3-1. All three UF runs have scored with 2 outs. Another SB. 8-for-8 for UF in the series. USC had to find a way to slow down the Gators.

4:32 - Crisp P-3 for the third out. Darnell's solo HR gets USC on the board. The Gamecocks trail, 2-1, heading to the T3.

4:28 - Darnell leads off the B2 for USC. He belts one to deep LF. It's over the fence! HR for Darnell. He has 14 HR and 60 RBI this season. It's 2-1. Disher P-3. Lail belts one to RCF. But it's caught at the wall. 2 outs.

4:22 - Walk with 2 outs. Leadoff batter for UF is up. He lines a single to RF. The ball goes into the corner. The UF baserunner rounds third. Here comes the throw. He's out at the plate!! 9-4-2 on the play. UF does score twice, though, and takes a 2-0 lead into the B2.

4:18 - 2-out single for UF in the T2. There's a blast to CF. Home run for the Gators. Riley Cooper, batting .077, just hit a HR for UF. The Gators lead, 2-0. It was the second hit of the season for Cooper in 14 at-bats.

4:15 - Smoak is batting .395 with 18 HR and 51 RBI. There's a comebacker to the mound. Watch out, Smoak doesn't run well. 1-6-3 DP. We go to the T2 with the score tied at 0-0.

:10 - Havens leads off the B1 for USC. F-8 to deep CF. It looked like it had a chance went it came off the bat. BUt it fell about 5 feet short of the fence. Merrifield up. Line drive into RF for a single. Smoak up. 1 runner on, 1 out.

4:05 - Passed ball on Disher. Runner to 2B. 1 out. Strikeout on Figueroa. He killed USC last night. There's a drive to CF. But Merrifield tracks it down on the warning track in deep CF. We go to the B1 with the score 0-0.

4:02 - We're underway. The leadoff batter for UF bunts towards third. Darnell throws. He beats it out. Single. More small ball from the Gators. There's a F-8. 1 out in the T1.

3:58 - The coaches and umpires are meeting at home plate. We're almost ready for baseball here at SFF. Obviously, after dropping last night's series opener, USC has to win today. Right now, USC is 11-11 in the SEC and tied for fifth place in the SEC East. There's '2001', so the Gamecocks are close to taking the field.

3:25 - We're here at Sarge Frye Field for Saturday's USC-Florida baseball game. It's Game 2 of a 3-game series. Obviously, USC must play a lot better than they did last night if they want to beat the Gators. USC has to find a way to control UF's 'small-ball' today. UF had six stolen bases, three scarifice hits and four walks. If you're looking for major changes in USC's lineup, you'll be disappointed. Here it is:

Havens - 6 (.385-13 HR-44 RBI)
Merrifield - 8 (.297-3-20)
Smoak - 3 (.395-18-51)
Darnell - 5 (.303-13-59)
Disher - 2 (.292-15-44)
Lail- 9 (.257-4-22)
Crisp - 7 (.312-1-13)
Enders - 2 (.257-5-23)
Wingo - 4 (.230-6-13)

Atwood - P (4-2, 4.22 ERA, 53.1 IP, 44 hits, 28 runs, 44 K's, 24 BB, .234 OBA)

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USC-Florida Game 1 Baseball Blog - Fri. 5/2

posted by Scott Hood, 5/02/2008 03:41:00 PM

10:15 - Solo HR for Havens!! It's 9-3 UF. That extends Havens' hitting streak to 16 games. Merrifield K's. 2 outs. Smoak up. Base hit to RF. Darnell up. 3-2.F-9. UF wins 9-3. Atwood is pitcher Sat.

10:07 - Caseys get a 6-3 groundout for the third out. We go to the B9 with UF leading, 9-2. Unless USC mounts a major rally here, it will be the fourth straight loss for the Gamecocks. They will fall to 31-15 overall, 11-11 in the SEC,

10:05 - Base hit off Hopper. RBI. UF leads 9-2. Here comes Tanner. Will Casey is the new USC pitcher.

10:00 - We're in the T9. UF has runners at 1&3, 2 outs. Justin Hopper is now pitching for USC.

9:50 - Disher K's to open the B8. Lail F-9. Crisp singles to LF. That's the 5th hit for USC, matching their season low. 6-3, nice scoop by the 1B for the third out. WE GO TO THE NINTH WITH USC TRAILING 8-2.

9:47 - 6-3 for the final out in the T8. USC has some work to do here and they have six outs to play with. Disher, Lail, Crisp due.

9:45 - UF has scored a run here in the T8 on a BB, stolen base, sacrifice and 5-3 groundout. It's 8-2 UF in the T8.

9:35 - Merrifield walks! Here comes the UF coach. He's telling his pitcher to be careful with Smoak here. 1 runner on, 1 out. Wild pitch! Merrifield to 2B. RBI opportunity for Smoak. He hits it a mile high but straight up. P-6. 2 outs. Darnell due. Darnell K's. We go to the T8 with UF leading 7-2.

9:32 - Solo HR by Wingo!! That's No. 6 on the year for him. He has 5 HR in the last 10 games. It's 7-2 UF. Could that be the start of a comeback for USC?? USC needs a few more runs. Havens X-7. Merrifield up.

9:30 - HBP and then a F-8 to deep CF. We've reached the 7th-inning stretch with USC trailing, 7-1. USC has just 3 hits tonight. The Gamecocks have had no hits since the B2. They've had just 3 baserunners in the last 4 Inn. 2 BB and a HBP. Wingo, Havens and Merrifield due.

9:25 - Wideberg is throwing the ball well here in the T7. 2 K's.

9:22 - Nothing but a 2-out walk for USC in the B6. We go tothe T& with USC trailing, 7-1.

9:15 - We've reached the middle of the 6th. USC trails by six runs, so they have to get the bats going. Disher, Lail and Crisp due.

9:10 - Intentional walk to Figueroa with 2 outs. He is 2-for-2 tonight with a HBP. Stolen base. 2 runners in scoring position. Line drive base hit to RCF. Both runners score. It's 7-1 UF.

9:05 - Walk and sacrifice to open the T6. Here comes Tanner. That's it for Thomas. Sean Wideberg is the new pitcher for USC. It's 5-1 UF in the T6.

9:00 - 2 quick outs for USC here in the T5. Merrifield F-9 and Smoak K's. Darnell up. He K's. We go to the T6 with UF leading 5-1.

8:57 - X-5 for the third out. We've finally reached the end of a wild and crazy T5. UF leads 5-1. Merrifield, Smoak and Darnell due.

8:50 - Now things are really geting crazy!! With 1 out and runners at 1&3, there was a line drive to Wingo at 2B. He dropped it and started a 4-6-3 DP. But the umpire ruled an intentionally drop by Wingo and sent the runner back to first. 2 outs. Runners on the corners.

8:45 - Base hit through Darnell into LF. Run scores. It's 5-1 UF. Runners on the corners with 1 out.

8:42 - The umps reverse the call! It goes as a sacrifice. UF has runners at 2&3, 1 out. Tanner somehow convinced the umps to change the call from safe to out. Now that's a saleman. We're back to baseball.

8:37 - Thomas hits the first batter. There'sd a single to CF. 2 runners on. Bunt. Thomas fields and throws. Safe! Here comes Tanner. He'll argue the call. Tanner is UPSET!!! He's going at it with the umpire, Now he's talking with all 3 umpires. That may be the most upset I've seen RT in a long time. Now the umps are talking amongst themselves. Now the umps are talking to the UF coach. They may be changing the call here.

8:33 - Havens K's. We go to the T5 with USC trailing, 4-1. Thomas still pitching for USC.

8:28 - Wingo walks with 2 outs. He's amazing. He has a .222 BA but a .477 OBP entering tonight's game. Here comes the UF coach. Pitching change. Havens will be at the plate with a runner on 1B and 2 outs.

8:22 - Thomas comes in and calms things down with a P-4 and 2 K's. We go to the B4 with USC trailing, 4-1.

8:15 - Cisco hits the first batter in the T4. Here comes Tanner. That's it for Cisco. Thomas will be the new USC pitcher. Cisco gives up eight hits in 3.0 innings. He's responsible for one base runner. Cisco threw 62 pitches. Tonight's attendance is 4,861.

8:10 - P-6 for Lail. We go to the T4 with USC trailing, 4-1. Cosco is back out buthe could have a short leash here. Thomas has resumed throwing.

8:08 - Darnell walks with 1 out. That's his 24th walk of the season. USC needs to rally here. Disher 4-3. Darnell moves to second. Lail up. Wild pitch! Darnell moves to third. RBI opportunity for Lail.

8:05 - P-6 to finally end the T3 with the bases loaded. But UF gets six hits, four with 2 outs, and they score three times to take a 4-1 lead. We go to the B3. UF has eight hits through 3 at-bats. Smoak leads off for USC.

:00 - There's a swinging bunt. Cisco doesn't throw to first. Runners at 1&2, 2 outs for UF in the T3. Gators lead 3-1. Base hit to RF. It was smoked. Lail drops the ball. Run scores. It's 4-1 UF. Three straight hits with 2 outs. Another single to CF. Bases loaded. 4 straight hits with 2 outs. We'll have some action. Craig Thomas warming up.

7:52 - Cisco is battling UF's No. 2 hitter. There's a slow roller to SS. No DP. Havens has tp go to 1B. Run scores from 3B. UF leads 2-1. There's a line drive into LF. Here comes the runner from 2B. He scores. It's 3-1 UF. 2 outs.

7:50 - 1 out in the T3. Bouncing single past Smoak at 1B. Smoak doesn't catch a foul pop near the USC dugout. It costs USC because there's a hit-and-run single to LF. UF had runners at 1&3, 1 out. UF has 4 hits.

7:45 - Havens lines one right at the UF CF. Tough luck there. 2 outs. Merrifield up. He'll need to be clutch here. 6-4 FC. We go to the T3 with the score tied at 1-1.

7:42 - Crips opens the B2 with a single to right. He came in batting .304. Enders lines one right at the UF LF. Wingo is HBP for the 13th time this season. The freshman from Mauldin is a magnet. Runners at 1&2, 1 out for Havens.

7:35 - Great play by Enders to pounce on a bunt and throw the runner out. 1 out in the T2. 6-3 for the 2nd out. Pretty easy so far for Cisco in the T2. F-9 for the third out. 1-2-3 for UF. We go to the B2 with the score tied at 1-1.

7:30 - Disher K's looking at a fastball on the outside corner. That's his 53rd K of the season. Lail up. F-7 to short LF. USC strands 2. We go to the T2 with the score tied at 1-1.

7:25 - Here comes the UF coach. We're back. Base hit off the 3B's glove. Merrifield scores. It's 1-1 with runners at 1&2, 1 out. Disher up. That's the 59th RBI of the season for Darnell. He leads the team in that category. 2-2 on Disher.

7:22 - Merrifield walks with 1 out. Smoak up. He has 57 career HR. He's also batting .443 over the last 20 games. He goes 3-1. This is a great hitter's count. Base hit to left! USC has runners on the corners with 1 out. Darnell up.

7:18 - The ol' 5-4-3 DP gets Cisco out of trouble after giving up just the 1 run. We go to the B1 with UF leading, 1-0. Havens, Merrifield, Smoak due.

7:15 - F-7. Stolen base. Runner on 2nd, 1 out. 3-2 on UF's No. 3 batter. There gos the runner! It's lined into LF for a base hit. RBI. Run scores. UF leads 1-0. Here comes Tanner for a chat. USC is 7-6 this season when the opponent scores first.

7:07 - Cisco is 18-9 in his career at USC. The UF leadoff batter steps in. We're ready to go. Bouncer up the middle. Havens can't grab it cleanly. Infield single. Cisco will have to work from the stretch. Let's see if UF bunts.

7:03 - The coaches and umpires are meeting at home plate. We're almost ready for baseball.

6:55 - We're about 15 minutes from first pitch. The official start time is 7:07 p.m. die to TV coverage. The Sun Network in Fla. is televising tonight's game.

6:35 - We're about 30 minutes from the first pitch. Here is where Justin Smoak stands on some of USC's all-time lists: 1st in Homers (you knew that), 4th in RBI (186), 7th in doubles (50), 9th in runs, 13th in hits (224). Smoak is also 10th on the SEC's all-time HR list. Some of the names ahead of him include Rafael Palmeiro (67) and Will Clark (61). Phil Disher is 10th on USC's all-time HR list with 38.

6:20 - One of the things that jumps out at you going over the numbers is that Florida's Sunday starter (Patrick Keating) is 8-0 with a 2.69 ERA. So, I'm sure Ray Tanner is going into this series thinking USC had better jump on UF early becuase if it comes down to Sunday, the Gamecocks could be in for a toughride. USC won 4 of the 5 meetings last season with Florida, including two games at the SEC Tournament. Overall, USC has enjoyed a lot of success against the Gators. Here are the series records for the last 8 years dating back to 2000:

2007: USC 4-1 (USC 2-0 in Hoover)
2006: USC 3-0
2005: UF 2-1
2004: USC 2-1
2003: USC 2-1
2002: USC 2-1
2001: USC 2-1
2000: Tied 2-2 (1 game in Hoover)

USC has won 6 of the last 7 season series and leads the all-time series, 32-22. Despite last weekend's 11-10 loss to LSU in 11 Inn., the magic number for USC is 6 runs. They're 25-1 when they reach that number.

6:00 - We're about 60 minutes from the first pitch. UF is finishing up batting practice. We've just received USC's tarting lineup. Here it is with current stats:

Havens - 6 (.390-12 HR-43 RBI)
Merrifield - 8 (.302-3-20)
Smoak - 3 (.395-18-51)
Darnell - 5 (.304-123-58)
Disher - DH (.299-15-44)
Lail- 9 (.263-4-22)
Crisp - 7 (.304-1-13)
Enders - 2 (.263-5-23)
Wingo - 4 (.222-5-12)

Cisco - P (5-2, 5.08 ERA, 62.0 IP, 79 hits, 36 runs, 36 K, 13 BB, .307 OBA).

There are no surprises with that lineup.

3:55 - It's pretty quiet here right now at Sarge Frye Field. But this is the lull before the storm. After last weekend's sweep in Baton Rouge at the hands of LSU, this is a must-win series for the Gamecocks. Right now, they're 11-10 in the SEC East, tied with Kentucky and Tennessee. Here are the complete SEC East standings:

Georgia 15-5-1
Florida 12-9
Vanderbilt 11-9
USC 11-10
Kentucky 11-10
Tennessee 11-10

As a contrast, Ole Miss has a 11-10 conference mark and they lead the SEC West by one game over Alabama. Four of the six teams in the West are below .500. Hopefully, by the close of the weekend, we'll haver a little better idea of where USC stands with regards to the SEC Tournament. USC would be either the No. 5, 6, or 7 seed right now, but that's because they haven't played Tennessee yet. The SEC Tournament begins Wed., May 21 in Hoover, Ala.

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USC-LSU Game 3 Blog - Sun. 4/27

posted by Scott Hood, 4/27/2008 12:33:00 PM

6:35 - Havens K's. 2 outs in T9. Merrifield K. Strikes out the side. USC Falls, 6-3 to LSU.

6:30 - Game has resumed. Jared Mitchell hits a solo HR for LSU in the B8 off Godwin. It's 6-3 LSU as we go to the T9. Unless USC comes back, this will mark the first time USC has been swept in BR since joining the SEC. Wingo K's. 1 out.

6:10 - The game is scheduled to resume at 6:20 p.m. I'm glad to see Cory Boyd was drafted in the 7th round by Tampa Bay. Good pick. I think he'll turn out to be a steal.

6:00 - The tarp is being taken off the field. It looks like we'll finally be able to complete this game. It's been four hours since the first pitch was thrown. Long day here at Alex Box Stadium.

5:50 - Kentucky beats Vanderbilt, 3-1. That means the Wildcats are 11-10, while Vandy is 11-9. We could have 4 teams with 11 conference wins in the SEC East by the end of the day. It looks like it's stopped raining here in BR. When play resumes, we'll be in the B8 with LSU leading, 5-3.

5:15 - As we wait our our second delay here in BR, I've been trying to follow the NFL Draft today. I can't believe Cory Boyd hasn't been picked. I saw a RB from Toledo was selected. Is he really better than Cory? I doubt it. I just wonder if personal/character issues are getting in the way. BTW, it's starting to rain again here in BR.

5:08 - LIGHTNING DELAY HERE IN THE B8. It's pretty dark overhead. The game must resume before 7 p.m. ET or it goes into the books.

5:05 - Bangs strikes out. We go to the B8 with USC trailing 5-3. Godwin still pitching for USC.

5:00 - Disher walks to open the T8. Lail smashe sone to third. This could be a DP. No! Lail beats it out. There goes Lail. But Enders is called out for hitter's interference! Bizarre call there. 2 outs. Bangs up.

4:55 - Godwin got the first two outs easily in the B7, but 2 singles and a HBP have loaded them the bases. The dangerous Matt Clark is up. The shift is on. The ball is hit up the middle. But Havens is there. He steps on 2B for the final out. We goto the T8 with USC trailing 5-3. Disher, Lail, Enders due.

4:48 - Darnell ground sout 5-3 for the third out. Havens is stranded at third. We go to the B7 with LSU leading 5-3. USC has to find a way to score twice before 6 outs are recorded or they will head home for the Bayou on the wrong end of a sweep.

4:45 - Havens leads off the T7 for USC. Base hit to LF for Havens. That extends his hitting streak to 15 games. Merrifield sacrifices. 3-4. Havens to 2B for Smoak. I'm sitting just in fron of the announcers for the local cable TV channel and they've had nothing by praise for Smoak. There's a 4-3 groundout. Havens to 3B. Smoak is 0-for-4 today, so his 18-game hitting streak is in danger. He's hoping to get another crack.

4:32 - We're underway in the B6 after a 40-minute rain delay. L-6 for the first out. HBP. Runner on 1st, 1 out for Jared Mitchell. F-9. Godwin nearly picked the runner of first. Godwin does pick him off. Sixth pickoff of the year for Godwin. We go to the T7 with USC trailing 5-3.

4:30 - USC takes the field. Nick Godwin is the new pitcher for USC. He pitched Tuesday night at Furman. He's 4-2 with a 2.20 ERA in 57.1 IP with 59 K's and 13 BB.

4:15 - The game will resume at 4:30 P.M. ET. The tarp is off the field and the grounds crew is working on the field. When the game resumes, we'll be in the B6 with USC trailing 5-3. The Gamecocks scored twice in the T6 to make it a 5-3 game. Phil Disher hit his 15th HR of the season and No. 38 of his career in the T6. The twams are out warming up again. We should be underway shortly, in about 10 minutes.

4:08 - Here comes the LSU players. They're going to remove the tarp. It's clear now in Baton Rouge. It looks we'll be underway in about another 10 minutes or so.

3:55 - I see some sunshine, so hopefully we'll be able to resume soon. It's not raining very hard either. But under the rules, there has to be at least a 30-minute delay.

3:45 - The rain is coming down pretty hard right now in Baton Rouge. The tarp is on the field. LSU leads 5-3 after 5-1/2 innings. USC scored twice in the 6th on a HR by Disher and a RBI FC by Bangs. he has 3 RBI this season.

3:40 - Wingo strikes out for the third out. WE HAVE A RAIN DELAY AND LIGHTNING DELAY. LSU leads 5-3 going into the B6. The deadline to restart the game is 6 p.m.

3:38 - Lail walks. Enders lines on e into RCF. The LSU CF dives but he can't get it! Lail moves to third. 1&3, 1 out. Tying run to the plate in Bangs. FC 5-4. Run scores. It's 5-3 LSU. Tanner out to argue that the 2B didn't have his foot on the bag. But he returns to the dugout after a brief conversation.

3:35 - Darnell F-9. Nice catch by the LSU RF. Here's Disher. Belted to RF. It's gone! Opposite field HR by Disher. It's 5-2 LSU. It's getting darker here in Batron Rouge. Hopefully, we'll be able to get the game in.

3:30 - Cooper finally gets out of the B5 with a U-3 and F-7. But LSU scores twice to take a 5-1 lead entering the T6. Darnell, Disher, Lail for USC.

3:25 - Stolen base. 4-1 groundout moves runner to 3rd. There's a bloop single to RF. Run scores. It's 5-1 LSU here in the B5. Calvi out for a chat.

3:20 - Leadoff triple past 1B into the lSU bullpen in the B5. Base hit to RCF. Run scores. LSU leads 4-1. Runner on 1st, 0 outs.

3:15 - Merrifield singles to LF with 2 outs. Here comes Smoak. USC needs a hit here. 1-3 for the third out. We go to the B5 with USC trailing, 3-1.

3:10 - Cooper closes out the B4 with 2 K's. We go to the T5 with USC trailing, 3-1. Wingo, Havens, Merrifield due. Wingo L-3 for 1st out.

3:05 - Double to LF for LSU with 1 out. There's a drive to LCF. It's gone. 2-run HR for LSU. The Tigers lead 3-1 here in the B4.

3:02 - Bangs struckout swinging for the third out. We go to the B4 with the score still tied at 1-1. USC strands 2 runners.

3:00 - Base hit for Disher with 1 out in T4. Lail up. Chopper towards third. The 3B can't handle it! USC has runners at 1&2, 1 out. Good scoring opportunity here. But Enders is jammed and pops out to 2B. That hurts. 2 outs.

2:52 - 6-3 groundout for third out. Nice play by Havens charging the ball and throwing across the body to Smoak. He's very good at that. That's a skill he'll need when he turns pro. So Cooper gets out of it with no damage. We go to the T4 with the scored tied at 1-1.

2:50 - LSU has runners on 1&2, 1 out after a BB and HBP. Cooper will have to work out of trouble. Bouncer to first. Smoak had to flip to Cooper for the out. LSU has runners at 2&3, 2 outs. Calvi out for a visit.

2:45 - Nothing for USC in the T3. 3-1, U-3, F-9. The LSU pitcher has set down 8 in a row. We go to the B3 with the score tied at 1-1.

2:40 - Cooper gives up a 1-out single but no further damage on the scoreboard. It's 1-1 as we go the T3. Top of the order for USC. Havens, Merrifield, Smoak.

2:32 - The first pitch by Cooper in B2 is belted deep to LF by Derek Helenihi for a solo HR. It's tied at 1-1. F-8 to deep CF for the 1st out.

2:30 - USC down in order in the T2. 5-3, K, 1-3. They'll have the top of the ordser inthe 3rd. We go to the B2 with USC leading 1-0. The RBI by Darnell in the 1st was the 58th of the season for him.

2:25 - Easy 1-2-3 for Cooper in the B1. 1-3 and 4-3 for the final 2 outs. We go to the T2 with USC ahead 1-0.

2:22 - Cooper takes the mound for USC. He had a great outing against Ole Miss last weekend. F-8 for the first out.

2:20 - Smoak lines the first pitch right at the LSU SS. He hit the ball hard but nothingto show for it. Darnell up. Base hit to LCF! Here comes Havens. He scores. It's 1-0 USC. Disher up. He K's. Again. Lail up. 5-3 on first pitch. USC leaves 2 runners. That's been a problem this weekend, but they do pick up a run. We go to the B1 with USC leading 1-0. USC had 2 hits in the T1.

2:15 - Havens falls behind 0-2 but works a walk to start the game. Great at-bat for him. Merrifield up. Base hit to CF! 0-2 pitch. USC has runners at 1&2, 0 outs for Smoak.

2:05 - The national anthem has been played. LSU has taken the field. The Tigers are wearing throw back uniforms from the 1930's. They definitely look from that era. Havens steps in. We're ready to go.

1:25 - Here is USC's starting lineup for Sunday's game with current statistics:

Havens - 6 (.393-12 HR-43 RBI)
Merrifield- 8 (.297-3-20)
Smoak - 3 (.405-18-51)
Darnell- 5 (.305-13-57)
Disher - 7 (.293-14-43)
Lail - 9 (.262-4-22)
Enders - 2 (.264-5-23)
Bangs - DH (.300-1-2)
Wingo - 4 (.235-12-32)

Cooper - P (5-3, 3.05 ERA, 59.0 IP, 62 hits, 26 R, 28 K, 13 BB, .276 OBA)

Today's lineup is Tanner's philosophy in action. Whenever USC faces adversity, he sticks with the veteran players. As a result, Disher will stay in the lineup despite his offensive struggles yesterday. Crisp is out of the lineup today after making a critical error in yesterday's game. Bangs has started five games and is 3-for-6 against SEC pitching.

1:15 - USC's starting pitcher is Blake Cooper, who is 5-3 with 3.05 ERA in 59.0 innings. He's allowed 62 hits and 26 runs with 28 K's and 13 BB. OBA is .276. Cooper has been clutch in the past when USC has dropped the first two games of the series. Lasy year, he beat Vanderbilt when the Commodores had won the first two games. Cooper has pitched well in his last 4 starts. Last week, he carried a shutout into the ninth inning against Ole Miss and finished with a complete game six-hitter. The previous week, he went 6.2 IP at Auburn. He also pitched well enough to win at Georgia April 6 with 7.2 IP, 8 hits, 4 runs.

1:00 - We've just been handed the updated USC stats and there's a couple of interesting things. First, Justin Smoak is now the leading hitter on USC with a .405 average. This is the first time all season Reese Havens hasn't been the Gamecocks' top hitter. Havens is at .393. Smoak had 4 hits yesterday and also walked three times. His OBP is now .521. That's incredible this late in the season. But it gets better. Smoak has a .455 BA against SEC opponents. He's 35-for-77 with 6 HR and 18 RBI in 20 SEC games. Two players that need to pick it up at the plate are James Darnell, who's down to .305 overall, and Phil Disher. Both of them failed in clutch situations on Saturday, including the 11th inning when USC could have scored a lot more runs but just got the one. Disher had 4 K's on Saturday. That's too many. As a hitter, the object is still to put the bat on the ball. Disher's weakness is breaking stuff on the outside corner. Disher has K'd 51 times this season. He definitely needs to cut down on his strikeouts. Darnell is batting .261 in SEC play this season. If those guys get hot again, watch out.

12:40 - We're here at Alex Box Stadium for Game 3 of the USC-LSU series. With losses in the first two games, I don't need to tell you this is an absolutely must-win situation for USC. You don't want to get swept in the SEC. That's disastrous. Further, the standings are so bunched up in the SEC East that you can't afford to lose too many games. A loss today and USC could find themselves in fifth or sixth place in the division. Blake Cooper has been a pretty good clutch pitcher in the past. No question, this is a gut check for the entire team. Here are the SEC East standings heading into Sunday's games:

Georgia 15-4-1
Vanderbilt 11-8
USC 11-9
Florida 11-9
Tennessee 11-9
Kentucky 10-10

Florida did USC a favor yesterday with a 7-2 win over UGA in Gainesville. Next weekend's series in Columbia between the Gamecocks and Gators is shaping up to be a huge one. USC also hosts Tennessee on the final weekend of the regular season. It looks like this one is going down to the wire.

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USC-LSU Game 2 Blog - Sat. 4/26

posted by Scott Hood, 4/26/2008 02:47:00 PM

8:30 - U-3. Smoak had to leap to get it. 1 out. Runner on 2B. Runner steals third!! Winning run 90 feet away. IBB here. Runners at 1&3 now. 1 out. Grounder to Wingo. He can't handle it!! LSU wins 11-10. Tough loss for the Gamecocks. They're 11-9 in the SEC.

8:25 - Bangs will try to close it out here. Grounder to Darnell. Low throw. It gets past Smoak! Runner to 2B. Tying run in scoring position. Wild pitch! Runner to third. 0 outs. Infield in. Bloop to LF. Crisp drops the ball! Tying run scores. Winning run on 1B. It's 10-10. LSU didn't waste any time tying it up.

8:20 - Disher 2 hard fouls. 0-2. Disher K's. USC gets a run, but leaves the vases full. WE GO TO THE B11 WITH USC LEADING 10-9.

8:18 - Darnell up. He's 0-for-4 with a SF and BB. 0-2. He lines one towards RF. It's foul by 2-3 feet. That was close. That would have driven in at least 2 runs. 1-2. Ball 2-2. UF beat UGA, 7-2 today in Gainesville. Darnell K's. Foul tip. Catcher hangs on. Disher up.

8:15 - Merrifield sacrifices 5-4. Runners at 2&3, 1 out for Smoak. LDSU will intentionally walk Smoak. That's probably a good decision. Bases full for Darnell. Here comes the LSU coach. Smoak has reached base 7 times today. Darnell up.

8:12 - BASE HIT HAVENS!! Run scores. USC leads 10-9. He ripped that one. Merrifield up. Huge hit by Havens. Now USC needs to add some more.

8:10 - Enders leads off in T11. Line drive single to LF. Wingo up. He'll probably be bunting. Yes, but foul. 1-1 on Wingo. Ball. He's trying to drag bunt. base hit to RF!! Enders to third. USC is in business. Runners at 1&3, 0 out for Havens. Career high 3 hits for Wingo today.

8:05 - Pontiff up. He had the big 2-run HR in the 8th to tie it. Full count. K. We go to the T11 with the score tied at 9-9.

8:00 - We go to the B10 with the score tied at 9-9. In case you've joined us late, USC had a 7-0 in the 6th inning but LSU rallied to force extra innings. X-3 for the first out. X-2 for the second out. Bangs pitching well here.

7:55 - Lail down 1-2. Low. 2-2. Foul. He stays alive. Foul barely. Still 2-2. Another foul. Lail is hanging in. Fighting off pitches. Rips a foul down into the LF corner. That was foul by about 5-10 feet. Another hard foul. Lail has made goo contact the last two swings. He needs to straighten it out. U-5 at third base. 3 outs. We go to the B10 with the score tied at 9-9.

7:52 - Two quick strikes on Crisp. Here comes Tanner for a chat. Back in the box. Ball. Ball 2-2. Foul. Crisp K's. 2 outs. It's up to Lail.

7:50 - Full count on Disher. Pitcher will have to throw a strike here. Disher will be waiting. Foul. Check swing. No! Ump says no swing. Disher walks. Runners on 1&2, 1 out for USC. Crisp up.

7:45 - Darnell swings and misses. Now there's a bunt attempt. Foul. Another foul past 3B. P-6 for the first out. Disher up. He's singled the last 2 times up. Ball. Disher holds up. Umpire signals no swing. Foul off the ankle. Disher comes up limping. Trainer is out.

7:42 - Smoak leads off the T10. USC has 13 hits, LSU 11. There have been 5 HR in this game. Both of LSU's HR's are by pinch-hitters. Smoak rips a single to RF. He's 4-for-4 with 2 BB today. He's reached base 6 times today. Darnell up. No sign of a bunt.

7:38 - 2 outs in the B9. 0-2. Strikeout on 3 pitches. Free baseball here at the Box.
We go to the 10th inning with the score tied at 9-9. Smoak, Darnell, Disher due for USC.

7:35 - Full count on the first LSU batter in B9. Long drive to RF, but foul. Ball. Walk to leadoff batter. Pinch-runner. Will LSU sacrifice here?? He bunts foul. Now he's swinging way. Foul. 0-2. There's a 1-6-3 DP!! 2 outs.

7:30 - Merrifield swings and misses at the first 2 pitches. 0-2. Barely stays alive. Strikeout. We go to the B9 with the score tied at 9-9.

7:25 - We're in the T9 with the score tied at 9-9. Enders singles with 1 out. 5-3 sacrifice by Wingo. Enders to 2B. This sets the stage for Havens. However, LSU will walk him. It will be up to Merrifield.

7:20 - 2-3 sacrifice puts go-ahead run in scoring position for LSU. 2 outs. LSU's No. 3 hitter is up. P-4 for the thir dout. WE GO TO THE 9TH WITH THE SCORE TIED AT 9-9.

7:15 - Single to LF. Go-ahead run at first. Here comes Tanner. He calls for Parker Bangs. Here comes the grounds crew to put some sand on the pitcher's mound. Bangs has to prevent the lead run from scoring here.

7:12 - Wild pitch by Thomas. Runner to 2nd. Still 0 outs in B8. P-6 for the first out. Pinch-hitter for LSU. Nicholas Pontiff, younger brother of former LSU player Wally Pontiff, who passed away a couple of years ago. There's a drive to LF. Home run. We're tied at 9-9. Ouch.

7:10 - Todd is having trouble throwing strikes. He walks the first batter in the B8. Ball 1 to the next batter. Here comes Tanner. Craig Thomas is the new pitcher for USC. Tying run at the plate.

7:02 - Base hit to LF for Disher!! Darnell scores. It's 9-7 USC. USC is 25-0 this season when scoring 6+ runs. Big run right there. 4-3 for third out. We go to the B8 with USC ahead, 9-7.

7:00 - Smoak rips a 1-out single to RCF. He has three hits and two walks today. Darnell FC 4-6. E6 on the throw. Darnell at second, 2 outs. Disher up. Here comes to LSU coach. He leaves.

6:55 - Todd finally gets out of it with a K. But the damnage is done with 4 runs inthe B7. That gives the Tigers 7 runs in the last 2 inning. What looked like a laugher 2 innings ago is now a tight game at 8-7. USC will have to hang on right here. They need a couple of runs.

6:45 - Todd walks the first batter. Now there's a base hit to LF. Run scores. It's 8-4 USC. Tying run in the on-deck circle. It's a little wet out there with a light rain falling. 3-0 on the next batter. Strike. There's a base hit to RF. Run scores. Here comes the throw. It's cutoff by Smoak. They have the runner caught up between first and second. The ball is thrown away!! Run scores. Batter goes to third. There's a SF to lF. It's 8-7 USC.

6:40 - We've reached the 7th inning stretch. USC leads 8-3. Atwood back for the B7. I'm a little surprised by that. But a LH batter leads off. 4-3 for first out. Todd warming up in the bullpen. Walk. Here comes Tanner. He calls for Todd. Runner on 1st, 1 out here in the B7.

6:35 - Lail leads off the T7. There's a drive to deep LF. It's gone!!! Big blast for Lail. USC now leads 8-3. They get one of the runs back. First HR by Lail since April 13th. Good timing there. It took back some of LSU's momentum.

6:32 - LSU batter reaches out and pokes a double past first base. Brandon Todd warming up in the bullpen. Here comes Tanner. Atwood stays in because Todd isn't ready. Atwood needs to get out of this inning without any further damage. 4-3f or third out. We've probably seen the last of Atwood. We go to the T7 with USC leading 7-3.

6:30 - Walk and single for LSU to open the B6. Tunenrs on 1&3. Atwood has a jam here. There's a 4-6-3 DP. Run scores. It's 7-1 USC. That was huge. I don't think USC is too concerned about that run. They need outs. Double to LCF. There's a long blast to LF. It's gone. 2-run HR. USC now leads 7-3.

6:20 - Darnell 4-3. Disher up. He's K's three times today. There's a base hit to LF. Good to see Disher get the bat on the ball. When he connects, he's fine. It's always been a question of making contact. Crisp up. F-7. We go to the B6 with USC ahead 7-0.

6:15 - There's a MAMMOTH Home run by Smoak to LF!!! That was DEEP over the wall. Give Smoak 57 career HR for the Goose Creek native. Wow. USC leads 7-0. New pitcher for LSU. USC has 2 HR today. Looking good for the Gamecocks today.

6:05 - That's a U-6 for the putout at 2B and Havens is charged with an error allowing the batter to advance to second. Atwood goes full to Mitchell, the No. 9 hitter. Atwood buries a fastball on the inside corner for strike three. 2 outs. F-7 for the 3rd out. We go to the T6 with USC leading 6-0.

6:03 - Some controversy here. LSU had a runners on 1st and a bouncer went to Havens over the mound. It looks like havens touched second. The umpires are conferring. Runner is out. But Havens made a bad throw to first and the batter ends up at second. Bottom line, LSU has a runner at secind with 1 out. The LSU ciach is still arguing. Now he goes back to the dugout.

5:58 - Check swing groundout to first for Havens. We go to the B5 with USC leading 6-0 thanks to the solo HR by Wingo in the 6th. USC has outhit LSU, 7-2, to this point.

5:50 - Lails leads off the T5. F-8. Enders up. X-3. Wingo up. There's a drive to deep LF! It's outta here!! Wow! Wingo has 4 HR in the last 8 games. Solo job. USC now leads 6-0. Wingo has 5 HR on the year. New pitcher for USC with Havens up.

5:45 - 1-out single in B4 snaps Atwood's string of retiring 8 LSU batters in a row. F-8 for the second out. Wild pitch. Runner on 2nd, 2 outs. Strikeout. LSU is done in the B4. USC leads 5-0 as we go to the T5. Great performance by Atwood thus far. He's allowed only 2 hits. LSU has had only 1 runner reach third base.

5:40 - Crisp goes 2-2 with the bases full. Foul. A train roars by as Crisp pops to short. Wasted opportunity for USC there. But they still lead 5-0 as we go to the B4.

5:37 - Smoak walks for the second time. He has 38 BB on the year. Darnell up. He had a SF last time. Darnell walks. Bases full for Disher, who's K'd twice. Tanner has a word for him as hs strolls to the plate. Disher has 2 K's today. He needs to make contact here. But he falls behind 0-2. Swings at a curve ball about 2 feet outside. Swing and a miss. Strike three. Bad at-bat right there. 2 outs for Crisp.

5:35 - With 1 out, Merrifield is hit by a pitch for the second time. He now has 4 HBP this season. There's a runner on base for Smoak, who is 1-for-1 with a walk and RBI. Tanner's decision to switch Smoak and Darnell in the order has worked splendidly.

5:30 - Another 1-23-3 inning for Atwood in the B3. That's 7 in a row for Atwood. We go to the T4 with USC leading 5-0.

5:25 - Infield single for Wingo with 2 outs in the T3. But he's quickly thrown out stealing. We go to the B3 with USC leading 5-0.

5:18: 2 well hit balls for LSU in the B2 but they're nothing but noisy outs. Atwood works 1-2-3 inning. We go to the T3 with USC leading 5-0.

5:10 - Darnell jumped on a pitch and lines it to LF. But it's caught. SF. Run scores. It's 5-0 USC. That's his 57th RBI. Disher K's for the second time. Runners on 1&2, 2 outs. Crisp up. Nice play by the LSU SS toi snag the liner over 2B. We go to the B2 with USC ahead, 5-0.

5:05 - Smoak walks. Bases loaded, 0 outs. Here comes the LSU manager. That's it for Jordan Brown, who came in with decent numbers. Ne wpitcher is Nolan Cain, who is 0-0 with a 2.38 ERA. He's allowed just 4 hits in 11.1 IP but he's also hit four batters and walked eight, so he's struggled with his control.