USC-USC Upstate Game Blog - Tues. 4/15
posted by Scott Hood on Tuesday, April 15, 2008
10:00 - 2 outs in the T9. Clay Mitchell coming on to pitch and try to get the final out.
9:50 - 1-2-3 for USC in the B8. WE GO TO THE NINTH WITH USC LEADING 14-4. Will Casey comes on to pitch the 9th for USC. USC will improve to 26-10 overall. Clemson is losing 6-2 in the bottom of the 9th. It looks like Clemson will carry a 10-game losing streak into Wednesday's game.
9:45 - Upstate down 1-2-3 against Musselwhite in the T8. USC leads 14-4 as we go to the B8.
9:30 - Havens singles home Hopper. Lail singles. Smoak up. He has 2 HR tonight. 2 runners on. Can Smoak do it again? YES! There it goes to RF! Third HR of the game for Smoak. Ties the school record. 9 RBI also ties the school record. 4 runs have scored this inning. USC leads 14-4.
9:20 - Musselwhite throws 2 wild pitches but gets out of it by allowing 1 run. We go to the B7 with USC leading 10-4. Both teams have 8 hits. Smoak's pair of 3-run homers are the difference.
9:15 - Bureell is lifted after giving up a run on three staright hits. Here comes Tyler Musselwhite. He's pitched 0.2 IP this season in two appearances. There's a wild pitch. Both runners move up a base.
9:05 - USC down in the B6. We go to the T7 with USC ahead, 10-2. Alex Burrell now pitching for USC. Costner goes 1 inn. I'm sure Tanner had to be impressed. 1-out double for Upstate.
8:55 - Smoak leads off the B6. Can he make it 3 HR tonight? He's swinging for the fences. 3-2 count. Smoak K's. Darnell up.
8:50 - Costner strikes out his first batter. He pumps the fist. 5-3 for the second out. Costner's last appearance was 3/27/07. Another strikeout! Great inning for Costner. The entire team comes out to greet him. He high fives everybody. Nice scene. USC will need Costner down the stretch.
8:45 - USC out in B5. Single by Havens is it. Here comes Jordan Costner! First appearance in more than a year. Glad to see this. We'll see how he does.
8:40 - Dyson gets out of the T5 without allowing a run. Bunt single and throwing error put a runner at 2B. We go to the B5 with USC leading 10-2. Merrifield leads off.
8:27 - Here comes the Upstate coach. Another change. This will be the 5th Upstate pitcher tonight. I have a feeling the deeper we go into the Upstate bullpen, the uglier this game will become. Mack K's. We go to the T5 with USC leading 10-2.
8:25 - Career high 6 RBI for Smoak. He now has 12 HR and 35 RBI on the seaon. 4 players have 12 HR - Havens, Smoak, Darnell, Disher. Hold on! Disher belts one to LF. It's a homer! 2-run shot makes it 10-2 USC. 13th of the year for him. This one is getting ugly. 6 runs this inning for the Gamecocks.
8:18 - Smoak up with 2 runners on. He homered the last time. There's a drive to LCF! It's over the wall! Wow! Another 3-run HR for Smoak!! 6 RBI for him tonight. It's 8-2 USC.
8:15 - USC had added another run here in the B4. Lail single to CF scores Merrifield, who bunted for a single. It's 5-2 USC.
8:10 - No further damage by Upstate in the T4. It's 4-2 USC as we go to the B4. Mack, Merrifield, Wingo due up.
8:05 - There's a long HR by Upstate. Merrifield and Mack barely moved. It's 4-2 in the T4.
8:00 - Bangs K's to end the B3. Smoak's HR has given USC a 4-1 lead as we head to the T4. Dyson still pitching for USC. I'm sure Tanner wants to get him about 5-6innings. We may see Jordan Costner tonight.
7:50 - Wow!! Titanic 3-run HR by Smoak in the B3! It easily cleared the CF wall. I'm talking about the tall wall that serves as the backdrop for the hitters. Career HR No. 50 for Smoak. Darnell singles. Disher singles. The bats are alive now!! Pitching change for Upstate. USC leads 4-1 in the B3.
7:40 - Dyson had 2 K's in the T3 but also gave up a single. We go to the B3 with the score tied at 1-1. Merrifield, Wingo, Havens due.
7:35 - Strikeout to end the T2. Score tied 1-1. Disher, Bangs, Mack due up. Crowd of about 1,500 here tonight. 1-2-3 for USC in B2. We go to the T3 with the score tied at 1-1.
7:30 - SF to RF scores the run for Upstate. It's 1-1 in T2. 2 outs, runner on 2nd.
7:22 - More control problems for Dyson. He walks the leadoff batter in the T2. That's 2 free passes. There's a base hit to LF. 2 runners on, 0 outs.
7:20 - Smoak walked but a strikeout-throwout DP gets Upstate out of the B1. It's 1-0 as we to the T2.
7:15 - That didn't take long! Havens hammers a HR over the LF wall on the third pitch. It's 1-0 USC. No. 12 for Havens. He's tied with Darnell and Disher for the team lead. Lail K's.
7:10 - Good start for Dyson. He walked a batter with 2 outs, but that was it. We go to the B1 with the score 0-0. F-8, 4-3 and FC 4-6.
6:20: Here is USC's starting lineup for tonight's game:
Havens - 6 (.381-11 HR-39 RBI)
Lail - 9 (.290-3-18)
Smoak - 3 (.362-10-29)
Darnell - 5 (.329-12-48)
Disher - 2 (.290-12-35)
Bangs - DH (.455-1-2)
Mack - 7 (.268-4-11)
Merrifield - 8 (.262-3-16)
Wingo - 4 (.214-1-7)
Dyson - P (3-0, 6.19 ERA, 16.0 IP, 14 H, 12 R, 16 K, 13 BB)
No major surprises with that lineup. Bangs is getting another opportunity to hit tonight. He had a long HR at Auburn.
6:00 - We're here for tonight's USC-USC Upstate baseball game. I've been told this is the first time USC has played a regional campus in a baseball game, though they did play USC-Upstate in an exhibition game a few years ago. We've received news from Andrew Crisp's MRI today. He is going to be evaluated by Dr. Talley Parrott of Midlands Orthopedics on Thursday when the MRI from November 2007 will be compared to the one on Tuesday. In the meantime, Crisp is out of tonight's game and the contest WEd. night at Clemson. He is listed as doubtful for this weekend v. Ole Miss. We should have the starting lineups shortly.
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10:05 - 6-3 for third out. USC WINS 14-4!!
10:00 - 2 outs in the T9. Clay Mitchell coming on to pitch and try to get the final out.
9:50 - 1-2-3 for USC in the B8. WE GO TO THE NINTH WITH USC LEADING 14-4. Will Casey comes on to pitch the 9th for USC. USC will improve to 26-10 overall. Clemson is losing 6-2 in the bottom of the 9th. It looks like Clemson will carry a 10-game losing streak into Wednesday's game.
9:45 - Upstate down 1-2-3 against Musselwhite in the T8. USC leads 14-4 as we go to the B8.
9:30 - Havens singles home Hopper. Lail singles. Smoak up. He has 2 HR tonight. 2 runners on. Can Smoak do it again? YES! There it goes to RF! Third HR of the game for Smoak. Ties the school record. 9 RBI also ties the school record. 4 runs have scored this inning. USC leads 14-4.
9:20 - Musselwhite throws 2 wild pitches but gets out of it by allowing 1 run. We go to the B7 with USC leading 10-4. Both teams have 8 hits. Smoak's pair of 3-run homers are the difference.
9:15 - Bureell is lifted after giving up a run on three staright hits. Here comes Tyler Musselwhite. He's pitched 0.2 IP this season in two appearances. There's a wild pitch. Both runners move up a base.
9:05 - USC down in the B6. We go to the T7 with USC ahead, 10-2. Alex Burrell now pitching for USC. Costner goes 1 inn. I'm sure Tanner had to be impressed. 1-out double for Upstate.
8:55 - Smoak leads off the B6. Can he make it 3 HR tonight? He's swinging for the fences. 3-2 count. Smoak K's. Darnell up.
8:50 - Costner strikes out his first batter. He pumps the fist. 5-3 for the second out. Costner's last appearance was 3/27/07. Another strikeout! Great inning for Costner. The entire team comes out to greet him. He high fives everybody. Nice scene. USC will need Costner down the stretch.
8:45 - USC out in B5. Single by Havens is it. Here comes Jordan Costner! First appearance in more than a year. Glad to see this. We'll see how he does.
8:40 - Dyson gets out of the T5 without allowing a run. Bunt single and throwing error put a runner at 2B. We go to the B5 with USC leading 10-2. Merrifield leads off.
8:27 - Here comes the Upstate coach. Another change. This will be the 5th Upstate pitcher tonight. I have a feeling the deeper we go into the Upstate bullpen, the uglier this game will become. Mack K's. We go to the T5 with USC leading 10-2.
8:25 - Career high 6 RBI for Smoak. He now has 12 HR and 35 RBI on the seaon. 4 players have 12 HR - Havens, Smoak, Darnell, Disher. Hold on! Disher belts one to LF. It's a homer! 2-run shot makes it 10-2 USC. 13th of the year for him. This one is getting ugly. 6 runs this inning for the Gamecocks.
8:18 - Smoak up with 2 runners on. He homered the last time. There's a drive to LCF! It's over the wall! Wow! Another 3-run HR for Smoak!! 6 RBI for him tonight. It's 8-2 USC.
8:15 - USC had added another run here in the B4. Lail single to CF scores Merrifield, who bunted for a single. It's 5-2 USC.
8:10 - No further damage by Upstate in the T4. It's 4-2 USC as we go to the B4. Mack, Merrifield, Wingo due up.
8:05 - There's a long HR by Upstate. Merrifield and Mack barely moved. It's 4-2 in the T4.
8:00 - Bangs K's to end the B3. Smoak's HR has given USC a 4-1 lead as we head to the T4. Dyson still pitching for USC. I'm sure Tanner wants to get him about 5-6innings. We may see Jordan Costner tonight.
7:50 - Wow!! Titanic 3-run HR by Smoak in the B3! It easily cleared the CF wall. I'm talking about the tall wall that serves as the backdrop for the hitters. Career HR No. 50 for Smoak. Darnell singles. Disher singles. The bats are alive now!! Pitching change for Upstate. USC leads 4-1 in the B3.
7:40 - Dyson had 2 K's in the T3 but also gave up a single. We go to the B3 with the score tied at 1-1. Merrifield, Wingo, Havens due.
7:35 - Strikeout to end the T2. Score tied 1-1. Disher, Bangs, Mack due up. Crowd of about 1,500 here tonight. 1-2-3 for USC in B2. We go to the T3 with the score tied at 1-1.
7:30 - SF to RF scores the run for Upstate. It's 1-1 in T2. 2 outs, runner on 2nd.
7:22 - More control problems for Dyson. He walks the leadoff batter in the T2. That's 2 free passes. There's a base hit to LF. 2 runners on, 0 outs.
7:20 - Smoak walked but a strikeout-throwout DP gets Upstate out of the B1. It's 1-0 as we to the T2.
7:15 - That didn't take long! Havens hammers a HR over the LF wall on the third pitch. It's 1-0 USC. No. 12 for Havens. He's tied with Darnell and Disher for the team lead. Lail K's.
7:10 - Good start for Dyson. He walked a batter with 2 outs, but that was it. We go to the B1 with the score 0-0. F-8, 4-3 and FC 4-6.
6:20: Here is USC's starting lineup for tonight's game:
Havens - 6 (.381-11 HR-39 RBI)
Lail - 9 (.290-3-18)
Smoak - 3 (.362-10-29)
Darnell - 5 (.329-12-48)
Disher - 2 (.290-12-35)
Bangs - DH (.455-1-2)
Mack - 7 (.268-4-11)
Merrifield - 8 (.262-3-16)
Wingo - 4 (.214-1-7)
Dyson - P (3-0, 6.19 ERA, 16.0 IP, 14 H, 12 R, 16 K, 13 BB)
No major surprises with that lineup. Bangs is getting another opportunity to hit tonight. He had a long HR at Auburn.
6:00 - We're here for tonight's USC-USC Upstate baseball game. I've been told this is the first time USC has played a regional campus in a baseball game, though they did play USC-Upstate in an exhibition game a few years ago. We've received news from Andrew Crisp's MRI today. He is going to be evaluated by Dr. Talley Parrott of Midlands Orthopedics on Thursday when the MRI from November 2007 will be compared to the one on Tuesday. In the meantime, Crisp is out of tonight's game and the contest WEd. night at Clemson. He is listed as doubtful for this weekend v. Ole Miss. We should have the starting lineups shortly.
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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 @.