USC-Florida Game 1 Baseball Blog - Fri. 5/2
posted by Scott Hood, 5/02/2008 03:41:00 PM
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.
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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