USC-Tennessee Baseball Game 1 Blog
posted by Scott Hood, Thursday, May 15, 2008
9:35 - 2 outs in the B9. Smoak fouled out to 1B. He went 0-for-4 tonight. Darnell belts one to LCF! It's gone! 2-run HR. USC avoids the shutout. Its 13-2 UT. The crowd is actually pretty loud right now.
9:30 - We go to the B9 with USC trailing 13-0. Unless USC scores a run, it will be the second time USC has been shutout this season. They lost 1-0 to UGA on April 5. Havens walks. First baserunner for USC since the 4th.
9:20 - USC down 1-2-3 inthe B8. That's 13 in a row set down by UT pitchers. USC has just 2 hits. This has been a long night. It's 13-0 UT as we go to the T9. Jordan Costner now pitching for USC.
9:15 - Another 2-run HR for UT in the T8. That's 4 HR's for the Vols tonight plus 4 HBP. It's 13-0 UT.
9:10 - USC down 1-2-3 in the B7. That's 10 in a row. The last USC baserunner came in the B4. We go to the T8 with USC trailing, 11-0.
9:00 - Another embarrassing moment for USC. Wideberg fielded a comebacker and tried to throw the ball to first but it apparebtly slipped out of his hand and went straight into the ground. UT ends up scoring a run on a FC grounder. We go to the B7 with USC trailing, 11-0.
8:55 - USC down 1-2-3 in the B6. There's not much life in the team right now. We go to the T7 with USC trailing, 10-0.
8:45 - Wideberg hits the first batter onthe inning. 4th HBP by USC tonight. There's drive into the RCF gap. Run scores from 1B. It's 10-0 UT. Double. K for the 2nd out. Runner on 2b. 4-3 for final out. We go to the B6 with USC trailing 10-0.
8:40 - USC down 1-2-3 in the B5. We go to the T6 with UT leading 9-0. Sean Wideberg is the new pitcher for USC.
8:35 - Consecutive walks and sacrifice bunt have given UT runners at 2&3 with 2 outs. Drive to LCF. Home run. Three-run blast. It's 9-0 UT. This out of control now. Thomas still pitching. HBP. Still nothing. Wideberg is warming up in the bullpen. F-8 for the final out. Finally! UT leads 9-0 as we go to the B5.
8:25 - UT has a runner at 2B with 1 out on a single and WP. There's a drive to deep CF. Home run. It's 6-0 UT. Ouch. Not a good time for this to happen. Another Game 1 nightmare for USC. They have to find a way to rally.
8:20 - I don't believe it. Crisp hit a fly to deep RF near the line. The UT RF made a leaping catch at the wall. But here's the bad news. When the catch was made, Darnell was standing on 3B. He was easily doubled up. There goes the rally. We go to the T5 with USC trailing, 4-0.
8:18 - Disher bounces one to 3B. The throw to 2B is low! The UT 2B can't handle it. USC has runners at 1&2, 1 out. Here comes the UT coach. He's chatting with the entire infield. Crisp up. RBI opportunity here.
8:15 - Smoak F-9 to deep RF. Darnell singled to LF. That is USC's second hit of the game. Disher up. He singled in the B2 for USC's first hit.
8:10 - Thomas comes in and K's the first batter he sees in the B4. We go to the B4 with USC trailing, 4-0. They have to get the bats going. Smoak, Darnell, Disher due. 3-4-5 hitters. It has to start here.
8:05 - Line drive single to CF. RBI. It's 4-0 UT. Here comes Tanner. That's it for Atwood. Craig Thomas will be the new pitcher for USC. Atwood lasted 3.2 IP. He's been hit hard in his last 2 outings. Runners on the corners.
8:02 - Timely 4-6-3 DP. But a run scores on the play. It's 3-0 UT. USC will have to come from behind in this one. 2 outs, runner on 3B. Walk. 2 walks and a HBP in this inning.
8:00 - Atwood has problems here in the T4. Leadoff BB and 2B into the RF corner. UT has runners at 2&3 with 0 outs. Single to RF. Run scores. It's 2-0 UT. Runners onthe corners, 0 outs. HBP. Bases loaded, 0 outs. Atwood is struggling here in the T4.
7:50 - Wingo and Havens both K. 2 outs. Enders still at 2B. Merrifield up. He K's 3 straight K's for the UT pitcher. He's pitching better than his record, that's for sure. We go to the T4 with USC still trailing, 1-0.
7:45 - Enders lead off the B3. The UT 2B sails a throw well over the 1B's head! It goes into the USC dugout. Enders to 2B. E4 on the play. Andre the Giant couldn't have caught that one. Runner on 2B, 0 outs.
7:40 - UT got a runner to 2B in the T3 on a single and 4-3 groundout, but Atwood gets out of it with a F-9. We go to the B3 with USC trailing, 1-0. USC has 1 hit inthe first 2 innings off UT starter Nick Hernandez. He came in with a 1-5 record and 5.54 ERA in 74.2 IP. But, despite his numbers, he's looked good so far.
7:35 - Lail P-6 for the third out. We go to the T3 with UT leading, 1-0. F-7 for the 1st out in T3.
7:30 - Darnell K's for the 1st out in the B2. Single for Disher. That's the first hit of the night for the Gamecocks. Crisp F-8. Lail up. Two outs, runner on 1st. Lail has been struggling. His BA is down to .236.
7:25 - K for the third out in the T2. UT leads 1-0. USC is 8-9 this season when the opponen scores first. We go to the B2. Darnell, Disher, Crisp due.
7:20 - Crisp makes a great catch up against the wall for the first out in the T2. Walk with 1 out. K for the 2nd out.
7:15 - Here's something you don't see for awhile. Inside the Park HR for UT's Kentrail Davis circles the bases. The ball banged off the CF wall and got past Merrifield. By the time the ball got back to the infield, Davis had slid into home plate. UT leads 1-0. First inside the park HR by an opponent since 2005.
7:10 - Havens K's for the first out in the B1. It looks like Havens has shaved his head. Merrfield F-8. Smoak up for the first time. In case you missed it, Smoak was named a semi-finalist for the Dick Howser Award on Thur. There's a sky high fly to LF. But it drops short of the LF wall. F-7. USC down 1-2-3. We go to the T2 with the score 0-0.
7:05 - Two nice defensive play by Smoak in the T1 on foul pops. He made 2 over the shoulder catches on the run. We go to the B1 with the score 0-0. Havens, Merrifield and Smoak for USC.
7:00 - We're almost ready for baseball. Former USC head coach June Raines justthrew out the first ball. It's still overcast here at SFF. But no rain yet, though I'm told it may be coming. I would say there's a crowd of about 2,500 on hand right now. Atwood is through with his warmups. Here we go.
6:15 - We're here at Sarge Frye Field for Game 1 of the critical USC-Tennessee baseball series. As I've said, USC must win at least 2 of 3 to make it to Hoover for the SEC Tournament. Here is USC's starting lineup with current stats:
Havens - 6 (.363-15 HR-48 RBI)
Merrifield - 8 (.328-3-20)
Smoak - 3 (.388-20-59)
Darnell - 5 (.305-16-70)
Disher - DH (.312-16-50)
Crisp - 7 (.314-2-19)
Lail - 9 (.236-5-26)
Enders - 2 (.259-5-25)
Wingo - 4 (.222-6-15)
Atwood - P (5-2, 4.72 ERA, 68.2 IP, 68 hits, 40 runs, 57 K, 26 BB, .268 OBA)
The UK-Ole Miss and Alabama-UGA games start at 6:30 p.m., so we'll have score updates.
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9:40 - 6-3 groundout. UT wins 13-2. USC faces 2 must win games.
9:35 - 2 outs in the B9. Smoak fouled out to 1B. He went 0-for-4 tonight. Darnell belts one to LCF! It's gone! 2-run HR. USC avoids the shutout. Its 13-2 UT. The crowd is actually pretty loud right now.
9:30 - We go to the B9 with USC trailing 13-0. Unless USC scores a run, it will be the second time USC has been shutout this season. They lost 1-0 to UGA on April 5. Havens walks. First baserunner for USC since the 4th.
9:20 - USC down 1-2-3 inthe B8. That's 13 in a row set down by UT pitchers. USC has just 2 hits. This has been a long night. It's 13-0 UT as we go to the T9. Jordan Costner now pitching for USC.
9:15 - Another 2-run HR for UT in the T8. That's 4 HR's for the Vols tonight plus 4 HBP. It's 13-0 UT.
9:10 - USC down 1-2-3 in the B7. That's 10 in a row. The last USC baserunner came in the B4. We go to the T8 with USC trailing, 11-0.
9:00 - Another embarrassing moment for USC. Wideberg fielded a comebacker and tried to throw the ball to first but it apparebtly slipped out of his hand and went straight into the ground. UT ends up scoring a run on a FC grounder. We go to the B7 with USC trailing, 11-0.
8:55 - USC down 1-2-3 in the B6. There's not much life in the team right now. We go to the T7 with USC trailing, 10-0.
8:45 - Wideberg hits the first batter onthe inning. 4th HBP by USC tonight. There's drive into the RCF gap. Run scores from 1B. It's 10-0 UT. Double. K for the 2nd out. Runner on 2b. 4-3 for final out. We go to the B6 with USC trailing 10-0.
8:40 - USC down 1-2-3 in the B5. We go to the T6 with UT leading 9-0. Sean Wideberg is the new pitcher for USC.
8:35 - Consecutive walks and sacrifice bunt have given UT runners at 2&3 with 2 outs. Drive to LCF. Home run. Three-run blast. It's 9-0 UT. This out of control now. Thomas still pitching. HBP. Still nothing. Wideberg is warming up in the bullpen. F-8 for the final out. Finally! UT leads 9-0 as we go to the B5.
8:25 - UT has a runner at 2B with 1 out on a single and WP. There's a drive to deep CF. Home run. It's 6-0 UT. Ouch. Not a good time for this to happen. Another Game 1 nightmare for USC. They have to find a way to rally.
8:20 - I don't believe it. Crisp hit a fly to deep RF near the line. The UT RF made a leaping catch at the wall. But here's the bad news. When the catch was made, Darnell was standing on 3B. He was easily doubled up. There goes the rally. We go to the T5 with USC trailing, 4-0.
8:18 - Disher bounces one to 3B. The throw to 2B is low! The UT 2B can't handle it. USC has runners at 1&2, 1 out. Here comes the UT coach. He's chatting with the entire infield. Crisp up. RBI opportunity here.
8:15 - Smoak F-9 to deep RF. Darnell singled to LF. That is USC's second hit of the game. Disher up. He singled in the B2 for USC's first hit.
8:10 - Thomas comes in and K's the first batter he sees in the B4. We go to the B4 with USC trailing, 4-0. They have to get the bats going. Smoak, Darnell, Disher due. 3-4-5 hitters. It has to start here.
8:05 - Line drive single to CF. RBI. It's 4-0 UT. Here comes Tanner. That's it for Atwood. Craig Thomas will be the new pitcher for USC. Atwood lasted 3.2 IP. He's been hit hard in his last 2 outings. Runners on the corners.
8:02 - Timely 4-6-3 DP. But a run scores on the play. It's 3-0 UT. USC will have to come from behind in this one. 2 outs, runner on 3B. Walk. 2 walks and a HBP in this inning.
8:00 - Atwood has problems here in the T4. Leadoff BB and 2B into the RF corner. UT has runners at 2&3 with 0 outs. Single to RF. Run scores. It's 2-0 UT. Runners onthe corners, 0 outs. HBP. Bases loaded, 0 outs. Atwood is struggling here in the T4.
7:50 - Wingo and Havens both K. 2 outs. Enders still at 2B. Merrifield up. He K's 3 straight K's for the UT pitcher. He's pitching better than his record, that's for sure. We go to the T4 with USC still trailing, 1-0.
7:45 - Enders lead off the B3. The UT 2B sails a throw well over the 1B's head! It goes into the USC dugout. Enders to 2B. E4 on the play. Andre the Giant couldn't have caught that one. Runner on 2B, 0 outs.
7:40 - UT got a runner to 2B in the T3 on a single and 4-3 groundout, but Atwood gets out of it with a F-9. We go to the B3 with USC trailing, 1-0. USC has 1 hit inthe first 2 innings off UT starter Nick Hernandez. He came in with a 1-5 record and 5.54 ERA in 74.2 IP. But, despite his numbers, he's looked good so far.
7:35 - Lail P-6 for the third out. We go to the T3 with UT leading, 1-0. F-7 for the 1st out in T3.
7:30 - Darnell K's for the 1st out in the B2. Single for Disher. That's the first hit of the night for the Gamecocks. Crisp F-8. Lail up. Two outs, runner on 1st. Lail has been struggling. His BA is down to .236.
7:25 - K for the third out in the T2. UT leads 1-0. USC is 8-9 this season when the opponen scores first. We go to the B2. Darnell, Disher, Crisp due.
7:20 - Crisp makes a great catch up against the wall for the first out in the T2. Walk with 1 out. K for the 2nd out.
7:15 - Here's something you don't see for awhile. Inside the Park HR for UT's Kentrail Davis circles the bases. The ball banged off the CF wall and got past Merrifield. By the time the ball got back to the infield, Davis had slid into home plate. UT leads 1-0. First inside the park HR by an opponent since 2005.
7:10 - Havens K's for the first out in the B1. It looks like Havens has shaved his head. Merrfield F-8. Smoak up for the first time. In case you missed it, Smoak was named a semi-finalist for the Dick Howser Award on Thur. There's a sky high fly to LF. But it drops short of the LF wall. F-7. USC down 1-2-3. We go to the T2 with the score 0-0.
7:05 - Two nice defensive play by Smoak in the T1 on foul pops. He made 2 over the shoulder catches on the run. We go to the B1 with the score 0-0. Havens, Merrifield and Smoak for USC.
7:00 - We're almost ready for baseball. Former USC head coach June Raines justthrew out the first ball. It's still overcast here at SFF. But no rain yet, though I'm told it may be coming. I would say there's a crowd of about 2,500 on hand right now. Atwood is through with his warmups. Here we go.
6:15 - We're here at Sarge Frye Field for Game 1 of the critical USC-Tennessee baseball series. As I've said, USC must win at least 2 of 3 to make it to Hoover for the SEC Tournament. Here is USC's starting lineup with current stats:
Havens - 6 (.363-15 HR-48 RBI)
Merrifield - 8 (.328-3-20)
Smoak - 3 (.388-20-59)
Darnell - 5 (.305-16-70)
Disher - DH (.312-16-50)
Crisp - 7 (.314-2-19)
Lail - 9 (.236-5-26)
Enders - 2 (.259-5-25)
Wingo - 4 (.222-6-15)
Atwood - P (5-2, 4.72 ERA, 68.2 IP, 68 hits, 40 runs, 57 K, 26 BB, .268 OBA)
The UK-Ole Miss and Alabama-UGA games start at 6:30 p.m., so we'll have score updates.
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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 @.