USC-Auburn Sunday Game 3 Blog
posted by Scott Hood, Sunday, April 13, 2008
6:35 - Infield single. Tying run at first, winning run at the plate. Strikeout! 2 outs. Pinch-hitter for AU.
6:30 - Walk. As Ray Tanner often says, it's never easy. There's a blast to RF. 3-run HR. USC now leads 7-6. That run in the ninth is huge right now. Here comes Tanner. New pitcher is Brandon Todd.
6:20 - Lail P-6 to end the T9. We go to the bottom of the 9th with USC leading 7-3. If USC hangs on, it will be the first road sweep since 2006 at LSU. Strikeout. Single to RF.
6:12 - Adam Crisp leads off the T9 with a walk. Hopper bunts. Poor throw by the 3B! Crisp ends up on third, Hopper at first. Enders fouls out to 1B. Merrifield up. Will USC try another suicide squeeze? No. Merrifield lofts a fly to RF. Crisp scores. It's 7-3 USC. Error by the catcher allows Hopper to go the 2nd. Havens IBB. He's reached base five times today.
6:07 - Single to RF. Runners on the corners, 2 outs for AU. The tying run is at the plate. There's a drive to LCF. Hopper runs it down! Nice catch. 3 outs. That could have been dangerous. WE GO TO THE NINTH WITH USC LEADING 6-3.
6:05 - Farotto issues a leadoff walk. But he strikes out the second batter. 1 on, 1out in the B8. F-9 for 2nd out.
6:00 - Wingo K's for the third out. We go to the B8 with USC ahead 6-3. Farotto back to the mound for USC.
5:55 - Darnell drives one over the LF's head! The bounces hits the brick tower supporting the scoreboard. Ground-rule double. Run scores. It's 6-3 USC. Smoak at 3rd, Darnell at 2nd. Here comes the AU coach. Another change. Smoak probably would have scored, so the GRD helped AU.
5:50 - Smoak up. He drives a itch into LF. Base hit. Havens to third. Here comes the AU coach. It looks like they're looking at the pitcher's shoe. Darnell up. A base hit here would give USC a 3-run lead. Darnell is 1-for-4 today with an infield single.
5:45 - Merrifield tries to bunt. He's out 1-3. Havens up. He singles through the box. Two hits and two walks today for Havens. Productive day. Lail up. F-7. 2 outs.
5:42 - Farotto fans the first batter he faces for the third out. AU doesn't score. We go to the T8 with USC leading 5-3. Merrifield leads off.
5:35 - We're back playing baseball. 1 out, runner on third. Our photographer Paul Collins was down on the field and he spoke with Crisp's parents. They told Paul that Andrew aggravated his back injury. Strikeout. 2 outs. Here comes Tanner. That's it for Cooper. Farotto coming in.
5:30 - Here comes the ambulance onto the field. They're putting Crisp into the vehicle on the stretcher. All of his teammates are crowded around, along with Tanner, Crisp's parents and AU officials. The crowd applauds as Crisp is put into the ambulance. Hopper will play LF. After the delay, the teams are warming up as we get set to reseume play.
5:25 - They're putting Crisp on the stretcher right now. TV replays show it might be a knee injury. It appears an ambulance might be arriving. Everyone is looking ot beyind the RF fence.
5:15 - Crisp is still down. Here comes the stretcher. Looks like it could be a leg injury. After he collided with Merrifield, Crisp maanged to throw the ball back into the infield before he collpased to the turf. The crowd is quiet here at Plainsman Park.
5:10 - Andrew Crisp at LF, Scott Wingo at 2B. Leadoff double for AU inthre B7. There's a fly into LCF. Merrifield and Crisp collide! Cruisp is down. Here comes the trainer and Tanner. Crisp made the catch for the first out. It looks like Hopper will come into the game. Crisp is still down, though.
5:05 - Wild pitch! Darnell scores. It's 5-3 USC. Disher on third base. Adam Crisp fans. Andrew Crisp fans. Enders 5-3. We go to the B7 with USC leading, 5-3.
5:00 - Darnell hits a chopper to 3rd. Safe at first! Runners at 1&2, 0 outs here in the T7. Disher up. C'mon, throw him a fastball. He does. It's ripped into LF for a double! Run scores. USC leads 4-3! Adam Crisp up.
4:55 - Smoak leads off for USC here in the T7. Walk. 34th free pass for Smoak this season. He came into the weekend leading the SEC in walks. Here comes the AU coach. New pitcher. Darnell up.
4:50 - AU has 2 runners one with 2 outs here in the B6. Calvi out. Walk, sacrifice, Hit by pitch. F-8 for the 2nd out. AU's No. 9 hitter is up. Strikeout! We go to the T7 with the score tied at 3-3.
4:40 - Merrifield swings at the first pitch and grounds to 1B. The runners don't advance. That hurt. Havens up. But AU will intentionally walk him. Bases full for Lail. A hit here could break it open. 5-3. AU gets out of it. Good job by the relief pitcher. We go to the B6 with the scored tied at 3-3.
4:35 - Walk to Bangs and infield single by Crisp has given USC 2 baserunners with 1 o
ut here in the T6. Adam Crisp is pinch-running for Bangs. Enders up. There's a smash past the 3B! Adam Crisp scores. It's 3-3. Double for Enders. Andrew Crisp on third. Here comes the AU coach. New pitcher coming in for AU.
4:30 - Single with 1 out in B5 for AU. F-9 for the second out. 2 outs, 1 runner on. 4-3 bouncer for the third out. We go to the T6 with AU leading, 3-2. Another close ballgame.
4:25 - Darnell racks up his third 6-3 of the day. USC doesn't score in the T5. We go to the B5 with USC trailing, 3-2.
4:20 - Ground rule double by Smoak into the USC bullpen. Havens may have scored from first, so that unfortunate bounce may end up hurting USC. USC has runners at 2&3, 2 outs for Darnell. He's 0-2 today with two 6-3's.
4:15 - Havens lines a single to LF with 1 out here in the T5. Lail P-3. 2 outs, runner on 1st.
4:10 - Single to RF. Run scores. AU leads 3-2. But there's a 4-6-3 DP. USC needed that. Another single. 4th hit of the inning for AU. A 6-4 FC finally ends it. We go to the T5 with USC trailing, 3-2.
4:05 - Leadoff double to RCF for AU in the B4. Cooper will need to work out of trouble. There's a drive to RCF. Merrifield dives, but he can't reach it. Triple. Run scores. Score tied at 2-2, with AU threatening to take the lead.
4:00 - 2 outs here in the T4. K and P-4. Nice play by the AU 2B on a chopper over the mound by Enders. We go to the B4 with USC leading, 2-1.
3:52 - Nice play by Crisp on a chopper, fielding the low bounce and throwing to first. U-3 for the second out. 4-3 for third out. Smash right at Crisp. We go to the T4 with USC leading, 2-1. Bangs, Crisp, Enders due.
3:50 - Disher K's for the third out. USC leads 2-1 as we head to the B3. No RBI for Smoak on that play. It will be an earned run, however.
3:45 - Smoak hits grounder at 1B. He throws to 2nd for the forceout there. But the relay throw goes into the USC dugout! Havens scores. It's 2-1 USC. Smoak ends up at second base. Darnell 6-3. 2 outs, runner at second.
3:40 - Havens, Lail, Smoak due here in the T3. Havens walks. Lail goes 3-2. Walk! Runners at 1&2, 0 out. Smoak up. Here comes the AU coach. He knows this is a dangerous situation.
3:35 - AU has 2 runners on, 2 outs here in the B2. Walk and single. AU's No. 9 hitter is up. F-8 in RCF. We go to the T3 with the score tied at 1-1.
3:25 - Single to RF by Enders. Runners at 1&2, 2 outs. Merrifield up. He hits a hard grounder but it's right at the AU 2B. Three outs. We go to the B2 with the score tied at 1-1.
3:20 - Single to RCF by DH Bangs. He's 5-for-10 this season. This kid can play. He's eligible for the draft after next season since he redshirted in 2007, but I hope he sticks around for at least 1 more year after that. Runner on 1st, 1 out for USC. Crisp fouls out to first.
3:15 - Kyle Enders has a gun. He just threw out another runner trying to steal second. Cooper got a K and U-3 to end the inning. We go to the T2 with the score tied at 1-1.
3:10 - Auburn didn't take long to tie the score. Leadoff HR to LCF. It's 1-1. That's just the second HR surrendered by Cooper this season. There's a base hit up the middle. Two batters, two hits for AU.
3:05 - USC out in the T1. The Gamecocks are 12-4 this season when they score in the first inning and 18-5 when they score first. They're also 10-4 when they hit one HR in a game. We go to the B1. Cooper on the mound.
3:00 - Havens steps in. We're underway in Game 3 at Auburn. He swings at the first pitch and pops to short. Lail up. There's a high drive to LF. It's over the wall! Home run! Third of the season for Lail. USC leads 1-0. That was quick. Took just 2 pitches.
2:45 - Here is USC's starting lineup for today's game with current statistics:
Havens - 6 (.375-11 HR-39 RBI)
Lail - 9 (.294-2-17)
Smoak - 3 (.357-10-29)
Darnell - 5 (.327-12-47)
Disher - 7 (.292-12-34)
Bangs - DH (.444-1-2)
Crisp - 4 (.311-1-13)
Enders - 2 (.299-5-21)
Merrifield - 8 (.270-3-15)
Cooper - P (3-3, 3.32 ERA, 43.1 IP, 47 H, 22 R, 9 BB, 23 K, .285 BA)
Disher will make his first start of the season in LF. He's made one appearance out there this season. Bangs is the DH for the second straight day and the third time this season. Lail is batting second for the second time this season. He's batted 6th 18 times in 34 games.
2:25 - We're here at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala. for Game 3 of this 3-game series. USC will try for the rare road sweep today. The last time the Gamecocks swept a road series against a SEC team was 2006 at LSU. If you recall, that was the series in which Arik Hempy suffered the arm injury that eventually led to TJ surgery. But road sweeps don't happen often in this league, so we'll see what happens today. I'm sure Auburn is going to come out fired up today. You never want to get swept at home, no matter who you're playing. Either way, I like the way this club responded after the disappointing series at Georgia last weekend. USC is right inthe thick of the race. USC comes into today's action tied with Tennessee at 8-6 in the conference. Every team in the SEC East is .500 or better, while the only team in the West that's above .500 in the league is Ole Miss, which is 9-5 and has a commanding 3-game lead on Auburn (6-8) and Alabama (6-8). Ole Miss comes to Columbia next weekend for a huge series.
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6;37 - Todd goes 3-1. Foul. Full count. 4-3. USC WINS 7-6!!!!
6:35 - Infield single. Tying run at first, winning run at the plate. Strikeout! 2 outs. Pinch-hitter for AU.
6:30 - Walk. As Ray Tanner often says, it's never easy. There's a blast to RF. 3-run HR. USC now leads 7-6. That run in the ninth is huge right now. Here comes Tanner. New pitcher is Brandon Todd.
6:20 - Lail P-6 to end the T9. We go to the bottom of the 9th with USC leading 7-3. If USC hangs on, it will be the first road sweep since 2006 at LSU. Strikeout. Single to RF.
6:12 - Adam Crisp leads off the T9 with a walk. Hopper bunts. Poor throw by the 3B! Crisp ends up on third, Hopper at first. Enders fouls out to 1B. Merrifield up. Will USC try another suicide squeeze? No. Merrifield lofts a fly to RF. Crisp scores. It's 7-3 USC. Error by the catcher allows Hopper to go the 2nd. Havens IBB. He's reached base five times today.
6:07 - Single to RF. Runners on the corners, 2 outs for AU. The tying run is at the plate. There's a drive to LCF. Hopper runs it down! Nice catch. 3 outs. That could have been dangerous. WE GO TO THE NINTH WITH USC LEADING 6-3.
6:05 - Farotto issues a leadoff walk. But he strikes out the second batter. 1 on, 1out in the B8. F-9 for 2nd out.
6:00 - Wingo K's for the third out. We go to the B8 with USC ahead 6-3. Farotto back to the mound for USC.
5:55 - Darnell drives one over the LF's head! The bounces hits the brick tower supporting the scoreboard. Ground-rule double. Run scores. It's 6-3 USC. Smoak at 3rd, Darnell at 2nd. Here comes the AU coach. Another change. Smoak probably would have scored, so the GRD helped AU.
5:50 - Smoak up. He drives a itch into LF. Base hit. Havens to third. Here comes the AU coach. It looks like they're looking at the pitcher's shoe. Darnell up. A base hit here would give USC a 3-run lead. Darnell is 1-for-4 today with an infield single.
5:45 - Merrifield tries to bunt. He's out 1-3. Havens up. He singles through the box. Two hits and two walks today for Havens. Productive day. Lail up. F-7. 2 outs.
5:42 - Farotto fans the first batter he faces for the third out. AU doesn't score. We go to the T8 with USC leading 5-3. Merrifield leads off.
5:35 - We're back playing baseball. 1 out, runner on third. Our photographer Paul Collins was down on the field and he spoke with Crisp's parents. They told Paul that Andrew aggravated his back injury. Strikeout. 2 outs. Here comes Tanner. That's it for Cooper. Farotto coming in.
5:30 - Here comes the ambulance onto the field. They're putting Crisp into the vehicle on the stretcher. All of his teammates are crowded around, along with Tanner, Crisp's parents and AU officials. The crowd applauds as Crisp is put into the ambulance. Hopper will play LF. After the delay, the teams are warming up as we get set to reseume play.
5:25 - They're putting Crisp on the stretcher right now. TV replays show it might be a knee injury. It appears an ambulance might be arriving. Everyone is looking ot beyind the RF fence.
5:15 - Crisp is still down. Here comes the stretcher. Looks like it could be a leg injury. After he collided with Merrifield, Crisp maanged to throw the ball back into the infield before he collpased to the turf. The crowd is quiet here at Plainsman Park.
5:10 - Andrew Crisp at LF, Scott Wingo at 2B. Leadoff double for AU inthre B7. There's a fly into LCF. Merrifield and Crisp collide! Cruisp is down. Here comes the trainer and Tanner. Crisp made the catch for the first out. It looks like Hopper will come into the game. Crisp is still down, though.
5:05 - Wild pitch! Darnell scores. It's 5-3 USC. Disher on third base. Adam Crisp fans. Andrew Crisp fans. Enders 5-3. We go to the B7 with USC leading, 5-3.
5:00 - Darnell hits a chopper to 3rd. Safe at first! Runners at 1&2, 0 outs here in the T7. Disher up. C'mon, throw him a fastball. He does. It's ripped into LF for a double! Run scores. USC leads 4-3! Adam Crisp up.
4:55 - Smoak leads off for USC here in the T7. Walk. 34th free pass for Smoak this season. He came into the weekend leading the SEC in walks. Here comes the AU coach. New pitcher. Darnell up.
4:50 - AU has 2 runners one with 2 outs here in the B6. Calvi out. Walk, sacrifice, Hit by pitch. F-8 for the 2nd out. AU's No. 9 hitter is up. Strikeout! We go to the T7 with the score tied at 3-3.
4:40 - Merrifield swings at the first pitch and grounds to 1B. The runners don't advance. That hurt. Havens up. But AU will intentionally walk him. Bases full for Lail. A hit here could break it open. 5-3. AU gets out of it. Good job by the relief pitcher. We go to the B6 with the scored tied at 3-3.
4:35 - Walk to Bangs and infield single by Crisp has given USC 2 baserunners with 1 o
ut here in the T6. Adam Crisp is pinch-running for Bangs. Enders up. There's a smash past the 3B! Adam Crisp scores. It's 3-3. Double for Enders. Andrew Crisp on third. Here comes the AU coach. New pitcher coming in for AU.
4:30 - Single with 1 out in B5 for AU. F-9 for the second out. 2 outs, 1 runner on. 4-3 bouncer for the third out. We go to the T6 with AU leading, 3-2. Another close ballgame.
4:25 - Darnell racks up his third 6-3 of the day. USC doesn't score in the T5. We go to the B5 with USC trailing, 3-2.
4:20 - Ground rule double by Smoak into the USC bullpen. Havens may have scored from first, so that unfortunate bounce may end up hurting USC. USC has runners at 2&3, 2 outs for Darnell. He's 0-2 today with two 6-3's.
4:15 - Havens lines a single to LF with 1 out here in the T5. Lail P-3. 2 outs, runner on 1st.
4:10 - Single to RF. Run scores. AU leads 3-2. But there's a 4-6-3 DP. USC needed that. Another single. 4th hit of the inning for AU. A 6-4 FC finally ends it. We go to the T5 with USC trailing, 3-2.
4:05 - Leadoff double to RCF for AU in the B4. Cooper will need to work out of trouble. There's a drive to RCF. Merrifield dives, but he can't reach it. Triple. Run scores. Score tied at 2-2, with AU threatening to take the lead.
4:00 - 2 outs here in the T4. K and P-4. Nice play by the AU 2B on a chopper over the mound by Enders. We go to the B4 with USC leading, 2-1.
3:52 - Nice play by Crisp on a chopper, fielding the low bounce and throwing to first. U-3 for the second out. 4-3 for third out. Smash right at Crisp. We go to the T4 with USC leading, 2-1. Bangs, Crisp, Enders due.
3:50 - Disher K's for the third out. USC leads 2-1 as we head to the B3. No RBI for Smoak on that play. It will be an earned run, however.
3:45 - Smoak hits grounder at 1B. He throws to 2nd for the forceout there. But the relay throw goes into the USC dugout! Havens scores. It's 2-1 USC. Smoak ends up at second base. Darnell 6-3. 2 outs, runner at second.
3:40 - Havens, Lail, Smoak due here in the T3. Havens walks. Lail goes 3-2. Walk! Runners at 1&2, 0 out. Smoak up. Here comes the AU coach. He knows this is a dangerous situation.
3:35 - AU has 2 runners on, 2 outs here in the B2. Walk and single. AU's No. 9 hitter is up. F-8 in RCF. We go to the T3 with the score tied at 1-1.
3:25 - Single to RF by Enders. Runners at 1&2, 2 outs. Merrifield up. He hits a hard grounder but it's right at the AU 2B. Three outs. We go to the B2 with the score tied at 1-1.
3:20 - Single to RCF by DH Bangs. He's 5-for-10 this season. This kid can play. He's eligible for the draft after next season since he redshirted in 2007, but I hope he sticks around for at least 1 more year after that. Runner on 1st, 1 out for USC. Crisp fouls out to first.
3:15 - Kyle Enders has a gun. He just threw out another runner trying to steal second. Cooper got a K and U-3 to end the inning. We go to the T2 with the score tied at 1-1.
3:10 - Auburn didn't take long to tie the score. Leadoff HR to LCF. It's 1-1. That's just the second HR surrendered by Cooper this season. There's a base hit up the middle. Two batters, two hits for AU.
3:05 - USC out in the T1. The Gamecocks are 12-4 this season when they score in the first inning and 18-5 when they score first. They're also 10-4 when they hit one HR in a game. We go to the B1. Cooper on the mound.
3:00 - Havens steps in. We're underway in Game 3 at Auburn. He swings at the first pitch and pops to short. Lail up. There's a high drive to LF. It's over the wall! Home run! Third of the season for Lail. USC leads 1-0. That was quick. Took just 2 pitches.
2:45 - Here is USC's starting lineup for today's game with current statistics:
Havens - 6 (.375-11 HR-39 RBI)
Lail - 9 (.294-2-17)
Smoak - 3 (.357-10-29)
Darnell - 5 (.327-12-47)
Disher - 7 (.292-12-34)
Bangs - DH (.444-1-2)
Crisp - 4 (.311-1-13)
Enders - 2 (.299-5-21)
Merrifield - 8 (.270-3-15)
Cooper - P (3-3, 3.32 ERA, 43.1 IP, 47 H, 22 R, 9 BB, 23 K, .285 BA)
Disher will make his first start of the season in LF. He's made one appearance out there this season. Bangs is the DH for the second straight day and the third time this season. Lail is batting second for the second time this season. He's batted 6th 18 times in 34 games.
2:25 - We're here at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala. for Game 3 of this 3-game series. USC will try for the rare road sweep today. The last time the Gamecocks swept a road series against a SEC team was 2006 at LSU. If you recall, that was the series in which Arik Hempy suffered the arm injury that eventually led to TJ surgery. But road sweeps don't happen often in this league, so we'll see what happens today. I'm sure Auburn is going to come out fired up today. You never want to get swept at home, no matter who you're playing. Either way, I like the way this club responded after the disappointing series at Georgia last weekend. USC is right inthe thick of the race. USC comes into today's action tied with Tennessee at 8-6 in the conference. Every team in the SEC East is .500 or better, while the only team in the West that's above .500 in the league is Ole Miss, which is 9-5 and has a commanding 3-game lead on Auburn (6-8) and Alabama (6-8). Ole Miss comes to Columbia next weekend for a huge series.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.