 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. 5:00 - USC is set up for another bis inning. Havens walks and Merrifield hit by pitch. Smoak up. Wild pitch! Way outside!! Runners at 2&3. 0 outs. 4:55 - Nice play by Darnell at 3B for the 5-4 FC for the third out. The ball was hard hit. That's the type of defense you need to win ball games. The 2-out walk doesn't cost Atwood except he had to throw a few more pitches. We go to the T2 with USC leading 4-0. 4:50 - Atwood fans the first 2 batters in the B1. But then he issues a 2-out walk. LSU's cleanup hitter is up. Base hit to CF. Runners at 1&3, 2 outs. Those 2-out walks will haunt you! 4:45 - Base hit for Enders to LF! Crisp scores. It's 4-0 USC. Here comes the LSU coach. Great way to begin for the Gamecocks. They're coming up with big hits today unlike last night. Wingo U-3 for the third out. 9 batters come to the plate. USC leads 4-0 as we go to the B1. 4:42 - Disher K's. 2 outs. Crisp out. Tanner moved up up to 6th in the lineup and dropped Lail to 7th. Let's see if the move pays immediate dividends. Yes! Infield single by Crisp. Bases loaded for Lail. He's been struggling but this would be a big spot for him. He bloops one to LF on the first pitch. It falls in!! 2 runs score. It's 3-0 USC. Great start for the Gamecocks! Enders up. 4:40 - Darnell bounces one into the hole. The LSU SS throws to 2nd. It's a bad throw!! Smoak is safe. Runners at 1&2, 1 out for Disher. 4:35 - Merrfield lines to RF. Havens doesn't advance. Smoak up. base hit to CF! Here comes Havens. He scores. It's 1-0 USC. Smoak extends hitting streak to 18 games nd picks up his 185th career RBi. That puts him alone in 4th place on USC's all-time list. Any moment now, I expect Smoak will put up four fingers for the crowd just like Harley Lail did at Clemson. 4:30 - We're underway at Baton Rouge. Havens fouls the first pitch off. There's a shot over 1B. It's a fair ball!! Double for Havens. That's a 14-game hitting streak for Havens and his 10th 2B of the year. 4:20 - It's stopped raining here in BR. The tarp is being pulled off the field. The projected start time is 4:30 p.m. 4:00 - Just as the clock hits the hour, it starts raining here in Baton Rouge. The LSU coach is talking with the umpires. The crowd is scrambling to cover. The tarp is going back on the field. We have a delay here in BR. 3:58 - We're getting ready for baseball here at Alex Box Stadium. The umpires are meeting with the coaches. This is a big game for USC. They can't afford to fall behind UGA any further and the SEC East is a mess with four teams at 10 or 11 wins. :35 - We've been told the game will start at the scheduled time of 4 p.m. The tarp is being pulled off the field. They just announced Glenn Dorsey was taken with the No. 5 overall pick in the NFL Draft. 3:30 - Although it's not raining, they're putting the tarp on the field. I see the LSU coach down talkign with Ray Tanner down on the field. It's overcast in BR and the wind is whipping pretty good towards left field. Right now, the game is still scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET. 3:15 - Here is USC's starting lineup for Saturday's Game 2 of the LSU series with current statistics: Havens - 6 (.393-12-42) Merrifield - 8 (.304-3-20) Smoak - 3 (.390-17-49) Darnell - 5 (.313-13-56) Disher - DH (.291-14-42) Crisp - 7 (.311-1-13) Lail - 9 (.259-3-19) Enders - 2 (.255-5-22) Wingo - 4 (.206-4-11) Atwood - P (4-2, 4.02 ERA, 47.0 IP, 37 hits, 24 runs, 38 K, 21 BB, .227 OBA) The biggest change is Tanner has, not surprisingly, switched Crisp and Lail in the batting order. Crisp has hit the ball well this season, while Lail, along with Enders, are slumping. Conversely, Merrifield is red hot with a .487 average (15 for 31) over the last 8 games. 3:00 - We're here for today's Game 2 of the USC-LSU series at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. USC is taking batting practice right now. Will Atwood will start for USC today. He's 4-2 with 4.02 ERA in 47.0 IP with 37 hits, 24 runs, 38 K's and 21 BB. We should have USC's starting lineup shortly. If you're concerned about USC's ability to rebound, here's a stat for you: USC has lost four games this season by 6+ runs. They're 4-0 in the following game. So, I expect the Gamecocks to come out today and play great baseball. On March 28, USC lost 15-3 to UK in the opening game, but won the next two games.
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USC-LSU Game 1 Baseball Blog - Fri. 4/25
posted by Scott Hood, 4/25/2008 07:40:00 PM
10:50: Smoak HR in the top of the 9th. But Darnell P-6 to end it. LSU WINS 11-3. USC falls to 11-8 in the SEC. Vandy won, so they're 11-7, 1/2 game ahead. 10:35 - Havens K's. 1 out. New pitcher for LSU. 6-3. 2 outs. 10:30 - WE GO TO THE NINTH WITH LSU LEADING 11-2. 10:20 - Will Casey pitching for USC. F-8 for 1st out. Jared Mitchell homered to LF. It's 11-2 LSU. 4-3 for second out. Infield single. Single to RF. 3 hits this inning for LSU. L-7 for the third out. 10:15 - Crisp pops to short. Infield fly rule is called. Enders out U-1. Runners at 2&3, 2 outs in the T8. Adam Crisp PH for Wingo. He's batting .231 in 26 at-bats. Strikeout on 3 pitches. We go to the B8 with LSU leading 10-2. 10:10 - Disher singles to center leading off the T8 to end the run by the LSU pitcher. He had set down 10 in a row. Lail walks. USC might have something going in the T8. Runners at 1&2, 0 outs. The LSU coach is out for a chat with the entire infield. Crisp up. 10:05 - USC down 1-2-3 in the T7. F-8, P-4, F-9. 10 in a row by the LSU pitcher. We go to the B7 with LSU leading 10-2. 10:02 - First batter against Farotto bloops a double to LF. Run scores. It's 10-2 LSU. Strikeout for the third out. We go to the T7 with LSU leading 10-2. USC needs a whole lotta offense right now. 10:00 - Another single to RF. Run scores. It's 8-2 LSU. Runners at 1&3. There's a 6-3 groundout. But Havens has no choice but to throw to first. Run scores. It's 9-2 LSU with 2 outs. Here comes Tanner. That's it for Cisco. Farotto coming on to pitch for USC. 9:50 - Cisco retires the first LSU batter in the B6. That's 8 in a row. But there's a single by Landry. He has 3 hits tonight. Jared Mitchell singles. The bottom 2 hitters have been productive for LSU tonight. LSU has runners at 1&2, 1 out in the B6. 9:45 - USC down 1-2-3 in the 6th. K, 4-3, F-7. Havens was retired for the first time after a double and 2 BB's. We go to the B6 with LSU leading 7-2. 9:40 - Another 1-2-3 inning for Cisco. He's settled down by retiring 7 LSU batters in a row. But the Gamecocks need to quickly score some runs here. Enders, Wingo, Havens due for USC. We go to the T6 with LSU leading 7-2. 9:32 - UGA beats UF, 7-4 in Gainesville, USC has to find a way to rally here or the Gamecocks will find themselves trailing by 4-1/2 games in the SEC East standings with 11 conference games left. UGA is 15-3-1. USC has to find a way to rally here. The LSU 3B just robbed Disher of a double. Great play. Lail F-8. 2 outs. Crisp up. K. 1-2-3 in the T5. We go to the B5 with LSU leading 7-2. 9:30 - Cisco sets down LSU in order in the B4. F-8, F-9, 1-3. We go to the T5 with LSU leading 7-2. He's thrown 71 pitches through 4 Inn. 9:20 - Dueces wild on Darnell. 2-2, 2 outs. 2 runners on. Darnell fouls off three pitches. Just misses on the outside corner. 3-2. Strike three swinging. USC has 8 LOB through the first four innings. 9:15 - Havens walks with 1 out. He's reached base three times tonight. He came into the game with a .517 OBP. Wingo is second at .495. Merrifield up. He's 2-for-2 tonight. The top two batetrs are a combined 3-for-3 with 2 BB. Make that 3-for-4. Merrifield hits a soft liner to 2B. It's caught for the 2nd out. Smoak rips a double down the LF line! 17-game hitting streak for him. Darnell up. Runners at 2&3, 2 outs. 9:10 - Cisco strikes out Jared Mitchell for the final out in the B3. We go to the T4 with LSU leading, 7-2. Wingo, Havens, Merrifield due. 9:05 - Cisco gives up a 1-out single in the B3. Matt Clark, LSU's leading HR hitter is up. There's a drive to RF. It's over the scoreboard. 2- run HR. LSU leads 7-2. The good news is USC is 7-0 this season when the opponent scores 6 to 9 runs. There's a single to CF. Cisco getting hit hard. LSU has 8 hits. Farotto starts to warm up in the bullpen. 8:55 - Crisp doubles to RCF with 2 outs in T3. Enders up. He's hit the ball hard but doesn't have much to show for it. Let's see what he does here. Enders K's. We go to the B3 with LSU leading 5-2. 8:50 - Cisco gets a strikeout for the second out. There's a long drive to LF. 2-run HR for LSU. Tigers lead 5-2. X-3 for the third out. We go to the T3. Disher, Lail and Crisp due. 8:45 - Base hit to CF. Run scores for LSU. It's 2-1 USC. The Tigers have runners at 1&3, 1 out in the B2. Jared Mitchell, who nearly came to USC, is up. He rifles one at Wingo. The ball skips away! 2 runs score. It's 3-2 LSU. Still only 1 out for LSU. Walk and three straight singles for LSU. No one is warming up in the USC bullpen. 8:40 - Cisco gets the first batter on a 4-3 groundout in the B2. But there's walk. Now he's 3-1 on the third batter. Single to LCF. LSU has runners on 1&2 with 1 out. A DP would be perfect right here. Cisco falls behind 2-0. Here comes Tanner for a chat. Knowing Tanner, he's prbably telling him to throw the @#$%& ball over the plate! 8:37 - Darnell lines one right at the LSU 2B. Bad luck there. USC leaves the bases loaded. They've left 5 OB in the first two innings. We go to the B2 with USC ahead 2-0. 8:35 - Smoak walks for the 37th time this season. This LSU pitcher has thrown a lot of pitches already. Here comes the LSU coach for a chat. Darnell can break it open with an extra-base hit right here. 8:32 - Merrifield rips a 1-0 into the LF corner!! Wingo scores. It's 2-0 USC. Havens ends up at third. Two runners in scoring position for Smoak, who flied to center for the first out. Merrifield is swinging a hot bat right now with five multi-hit games in the last 6. I think he'll stick in the two hole. 8:30 - UGA leads UF 7-4 in the T8 in Gainesville. USC needs the Gators to win in order to gain any ground in the SEC East. USC has 2 outs in T2. Single by Wingo to RF. Havens up. He walks to reach base for the second time. Runners at 1&2, 2 outs. Merrifield up. 8:20 - LSU has 1 runner on with 2 outs here in the B1. 4-3, single, X-5. 3-1 for the thir dout. Good inning for Cosco. We go to the T2 with USC leading 1-0. 8:13 - Disher K's. 2 outs. Lail up. P-4. We go to the B1 with USC leading 1-0. 8:10 - Long at-bat for Darnell. 3-2 count. Ball 4. USC has runners at 1&2, 1 out for Disher. 8:05 - Merrifield singles into RF! Here comes Havens. He scores. It's 1-0 USC. Great start for the Gamecocks. Havens now has a 13-game hitting streak. Smoak F-8 for first out. Darnell up. USC is 24-5 this season when they score first and and 17-4 when it scores in the first inning. 8:02 - Havens steps in. Here's the first pitch. We're underway. the LSU starting pitcher is Blake Martin, who is 1-3 with a 5.14 ERA. Havens rips a shot right at the first baseman. It bounces away! Havens ends up at 2B. The LSU 1B is hurt. It may have hit him in the face. Runner at 2B, 0 outs. Merrifield up. They're calling the Havens hit a double. 8:00 - We're almost underway here at Alex Box Stadium. If you've never been here. it's located next to the football stadium. They're constucting a new ballpark across the street. It's supposed to be ready in 2009. 7:45 PM - We're here at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. for tonight's USC-LSU baseball game. This is Game 1 of a 3-game series. Here is USC's starting lineup current batting averages: Havens - 6 (.394) Merrifield - 8 (.301) Smoak - 3 (.387) Darnell - 5 (.320) Disher - DH (.292) Lail - 9 (.264) Crisp - 7 (.313) Enders - 2 (.261) Wingo - 4 (.200) Cisco - P (5-1, 3.99 ERA, 56.1 IP, 68 hits, 26 runs, 34 K, 12 BB, .297 OBA)
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USC-Wofford Baseball Game Blog - Wed. 4/23
posted by Scott Hood, 4/23/2008 06:08:00 PM
TEST 7:30 - There's another walk. Bases are loaded, 1 out. When Dyson throws strikes he's fine. He just had to get more consistent. Strikeout! That's big right there. 2 outs. 7:25: Dyson working here in the T2. But he's had some control problems. He hit a batter and just walked another. Wofford has runners on 1&2 with 1 out. Calvi out for a chat. 7:15: Bunt single for Merrifield. He steals second. Smoak up. There it goes!! Titanic blast to RF. 2-run HR. 16-game hitting streak for Smoak. He now has 53 career HR. Darnell follows with a double off the LF wall. But he dies at third. We go to the T2 with USC leading, 2-0. 7:10 - We're underway at SFF. Dyson sets Wofford down in order in the T1 on a U-3, F-9, F-8. We go to the B1 with the score 0-0. 6:45 - Here is USC's starting lineup for tonight's game with current stats: Havens - 6 (.391-12 HR-41 RBI) Merrifield - 8 (.294-3-18) Smoak - 3 (.381-13-40) Darnell - 5 (.318-13-56) Disher - 2 (.293-14-42) Lail - 9 (.273-3-19) Bangs - DH (.333-1-2) Crisp - 7 (.304-1-13) Wingo - 4 (.193-3-10) Dyson - P (4-0, 5.57 ERA, 21.0 IP, 19 hits, 14 runs, 20 K, 15 BB, .257 OBA) 6:25 - We're here at Sarge Frye Field for tonight's South Carolina-Wofford baseball game. First pitch at 7 p.m. We don't have the starting lineups yet, but Sam Dyson will start for USC. Dyson is 4-0 with a 5.57 ERA in 21.0 IP this season. This will be his fifth start of the season. This is a big game for USC because it falls right before a SEC road series. The Gamecocks are chartering to LSU tomorrow for a three-game weekend series in Baton Rouge. USC leads the all-time series, 67-22-1. USC swept all three games from Wofford last season, including one game in the NCAA Regional. We'll have the starting lineup shortly.
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Understanding The Beecher Decision
posted by Scott Hood, 4/23/2008 03:02:00 AM
Late Saturday afternoon, soon after the interception-filled spring football game, Steve Spurrier declined to name a number one quarterback heading into the summer months. Seventy-two hours later, he stood up in front of a large crowd at the Laurens County Gamecock Club meeting and announced that if USC had a game tomorrow, redshirt junior Tommy Beecher would start at quarterback, effectively making him the No. 1 guy. What happened? In my opinion, a couple of things. First, I believe Spurrier decided after thinking it over for a few days that he didn’t want the ‘quarterback cloud’ hanging over the entire Gamecock team. In other words, he felt the team needed to know (and possibly deserved to know) who the No.1 guy was as a way of promoting team unity. He certainly didn’t want the team dividing into pro-Beecher and pro-Smelley camps. This way, all 100-plus players on USC’s roster will get behind Beecher. Second, Spurrier deciphered the numbers and analyzed the video from the spring game and the previous practices and two full-contact scrimmages and determined Beecher had outperformed Smelley when the heat was on. Frankly, I can’t argue with that. In the first scrimmage held March 29, Smelley completed 15 of 26 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns, while Beecher was 8-for-20 for 91 yards and one TD. Advantage Smelley. In the second full-contact scrimmage conducted April 7, Smelley was 14 of 19 for 143 yards and one TD, while Beecher was 13 of 19 for 142 yards and one TD. Even. Finally, in the spring game, Smelley completed 13 of 30 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns and five interceptions (all in the first half). Beecher was 9-of-20 for 131 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions. Afterwards Spurrier said Beecher had performed better Advantage Beecher. So, after 15 practices, how much separation was there between the two quarterbacks? Not much. But here’s the key difference between the two contenders: Beecher’s numbers were trending upward, while Smelley’s numbers were clearly spiraling downward. Based on the relative inexperience of Beecher and Stephen Garcia, Smelley was the heavy favorite - in my view - heading into spring practice to emerge from the 15 practices as the top guy. In fact, I had projected Garcia second and Beecher third. But, then again, that’s why I’m not coaching. From that perspective, the naming of Beecher as the No.1 guy constitutes a mild upset. I'm sure when spring practice started that Beecher trailed in the fan polls by a wide margin. Clearly, though, something has happened to Smelley. Last Saturday afternoon was, technically anyways, the first time he had stepped onto the Williams-Brice Stadium turf wearing official USC football gear (scrimmage jerseys don’t count) in front of a large crowd since the Vanderbilt meltdown last October. Taking those two appearances together, Smelley is 27 of 54 for 373 yards and three touchdowns and seven interceptions in his last two outings at Williams-Brice. If you factor the Tennessee game into the equation, Smelley has strung together three consecutive poor outings while wearing the official USC uniform. Negative nellies will contend, of course, Beecher is simply the lesser of two evils. I agree he certainly didn’t set the world on fire with his spring game performance. However, somebody has to play quarterback. With everything else being equal, Spurrier may have simply picked the guy who’s the better scrambler. Or the guy who’s a little smarter, or studies the playbook a little harder, or watches more video. You can pick anything. Of course, if you know anything about Spurrier, Tuesday’s events doesn’t mean Beecher will be the starter when USC faces N.C. State in the season opener Aug. 28. There are still 29 practices to go before the Wolfpack come to town. Beecher will have to earn the right to be the guy when fall camp opens. In fact, come Aug. 15 – or possibly even earlier – he may have to fend off Garcia as well. Thus, while Tuesday’s announcement will calm the waters for a couple of months, the stormy weather could return in August and we could all be back here at this same space arguing who the starting QB should be. Beecher is sort of like the NASCAR driver who lays back and allows others to battle for the lead in the early going of a 500-mile race before starting his dash to the front over the second half of the race and than winning on fuel mileage. Beecher deserves to be the No. 1 guy. Now we’ll see if he can keep the crown.
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Eight Is Enough For Gamecock Quarterbacks
posted by Scott Hood, 4/22/2008 12:13:00 AM
Okay, South Carolina’s two primary quarterbacks combined to throw eight interceptions in the Spring Game. Should panic-stricken USC fans give up on the 2008 season? Absolutely not. Is it time to be concerned? No. Why? My calendar says April 22, 2008. Hopefully, yours says the same thing. I refuse to believe that anything that happens on a football field less than one week after I filed my income tax return means a whole heck of a lot when evaluating the upcoming college football season. Relevant? Yes. A high degree of relevancy? No. Remember, we’re still four months away from USC starting serious preparations for the season opener. The Gamecocks still have 29 practices remaining until they face N.C. State Aug. 28 at Williams-Brice Stadium. In other words, USC has conducted just 15 of the 44 team practices allowed this calendar year before next season starts. That’s just 34 percent of the total. Moreover, USC’s quarterbacks didn’t throw a single pass to Kenny McKinley the entire spring and senior RB Mike Davis carried the ball just twice in the spring game. The USC offense the 31,000 people in attendance saw Saturday afternoon at Williams-Brice Stadium should look much different when August rolls around. And, I suspect, they’ll be a lot more productive. Chris Smelley’s numbers Saturday weren’t impressive: 13-for-30 for 219 yards and five interceptions. Beecher had a higher completion percentage by connecting on 9 of 20 passes with three interceptions. But there’s really only two numbers that ultimately matter: the number of wins and losses. Smelley was 4-2 as a starter last season. But, I fully understand eight interceptions are still eight interceptions. I assure you there’s plenty of room for improvement by the Gamecock quarterbacks. And that goes for Zac Brindise and Michel McQueeney, too. Hey, I think I get it now. One interception in the spring game for each win by the Gamecocks during the 2008 season. 8-4? I’ll take that. Hopefully, Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher will use their mediocre performance in the spring game as a source of motivation throughout the summer. Creating wristbands for the quarterbacks with the number 8 written on them would certainly add a nice touch to the summer workouts. Or, better yet, the wrist bands could say “Eight is Enough.” And I’m not talking about the old TV show, either. It should come as no surprise that one of the interesting questions arising from Saturday’s game is this: should USC fans hope Stephen Garcia behaves himself between now and Aug. 15? Probably. If anything, getting Garcia back will add some drama to the dog days of August when fall practice enters its third week and there’s still 13 days to go before the opening game. USC fans can also hope Gamecock Athletic Director Eric Hyman sees fit to call off the dogs and allow Garcia to return to the team on Aug. 1 just in time for the start of fall practice. Now, that would be some kind of early Christmas present for Gamecock Nation. Of course, Garcia must jump through a number of hoops before he’d be allowed to return. So, if you really, really want Garcia to make it all the way back, break out those Rosaries and start praying. But be careful what you wish for, as they say. Garcia has yet to take a snap in a game and, to be quite frank, hasn’t proven a darn thing to his coaches, teammates and fans. All we have to go on right now is a few 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills last fall, along with accounts of his work with the scout team. At this point, I’m not prepared to predict Garcia will ride into Columbia with the U.S. Cavalry Aug. 15 and save the day for the Gamecocks. In my opinion, it’s still Chris Smelley’s job to lose. Tommy Beecher is putting up a good fight, though. But it’s a long time until August.
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USC-Ole Miss Baseball Blog - Sun. 4/20
posted by Scott Hood, 4/20/2008 11:32:00 AM
2:27 - X-5. USC WINS 4-1. HUGE WIN FOR THE GAMECOCKS. 11-7 IN SEC. 2:25 - Infield single to second. 1 runner on, 1 out in the T9. F-9 for second out. One out to go. Runner on first. 2:22 - Well, there goes the shutout. Long HR to LF by Overbeck. It's 4-1 USC. Strikeout. 1 out. 2:20 - USC down 1-2-3 inthe B8. WE GO TO THE NINTH WITH USC LEADING 4-0. Cooper is back out. He'll try for USC's first complete game shutout in three years. 2:15 - Cooper mows down OM in the 8th. He has thrown only 88 pitches, so Tanner will likley let him come out for the 9th. The last 9-inning complete game shutout for USC came in 2005 by Aaron Rawl. He beat OM in Oxford, 2-0. We go to the B8 with USC leading 4-0. 2:05 - USC has runners on 1&2 with 2 outs here in the B7. Smoak, batting RH, just hit a single to LF. Darnell up. FC U-4 at 2B. USC leads 4-0 as we go to the T8. 1:58 - Wingo walks to open the B7. Here comes the OM coach. That's it for Satterwhite. New pitcher for the Rebels to face Havens. He's a LHP. Brett Buckvich. It would be nice for USC to pick up a couple of insurance runs. 1:50 - Cooper gives up a 1-out single in the T7. First hit for OM since the 3rd. Cooper retired 12 in a row. There's a foul out to left. 6-4 FC for the third out. The So. RHP from Edisto is pitching a masterpiece. OM has just 4 hits. We go to the B7 with USC leading 4-0. 1:45 - Double play and K take care of USC in the B6. We go to the T7 with USC leading 4-0. 1:40 - Cooper is absolutely cruising right now. Another 1-2-3 inning for him. Darnell made a nice play for the second out. It's 4-0 USC going to the B6. 1:35 - Darnell singles to RF with 2 outs. But Disher K's. We go to the T6 with USC leading 4-0. 1:25 - Easy 1-2-3 inning for Cooper in the T5. 3 groundouts. He's retired 8 in a row. We go to the B5 with USC leading 4-0. USC has 6 hits, OM 3 hits. 1:20 - Havens walked with 2 outs in the B4 but was thrownout stealing for the final out. We go to the T5 with the score still USC 4-0. 1:10 - Easy T4 for Cooper. Havens did all the heavy lifting with 6-3, 6-3 and P-6. He showed his range on both groundouts. We go to the B4 with USC leading 4-0. 1:08 - Enders flies to right. The OM CF makes a diving catch. But Disher thinks he didn't catch it. He's doubled off 2nd. Nothing for USC after the leadoff double. We go to the T4 with USC leading 4-0. 1:02 - Disher rips a double to LCF leading off the B3. Disher is 2-for-2 today with 2 line drives. He's swinging the bat well. Lail up. He fanned the last last time. Will he bunt? He shows bunt. 3-1 count. He pops the bunt up into the air! P-1. Ouch. Not good right there. Enders up. 1:00 - Darnell lines to RF. We go to the T3 with USC leading 4-0. Cooper makes quick work of OM in the T3. 4-3, Single, P-4, F-8. He didn't throw many pitches. We go to the B3 with USC leading, 4-0. 12:52 - 4-6-3 DP by Smoak. But the run scores. It's 4-0 USC. Darnell up. 12:50 - Havens rips a double into the LCF gap to leadoff the B2. Merrifield up. He bunts. He beats the throw! Another bunt single for the freshman. Runners at 1&3, 0 outs for Smoak. 12:45 - Nice play by Wingo to end the T2. 3-4-3. Ball ricocheted off Smoak but Wingo picked it up and threw the runner out. Nothing for OM. We go to the B2 with USC leading, 3-0. 12:37 - Count goes full on Wingo. There's a smash to 2B. But it's right at the Ole Miss 2B. 4-3. USC leads 3-0 going to the T2. 12:33 - Lail is up. USC is 15-4 this season when it scores in the first inning. Lail strikes out. Enders up. Dribbler. Darnellout 1-2 at the plate. 2 outs. Mack up. He walks. Bases are loaded for Wingo with 2 outs. 12:30 - Darnell walks. Bases are loaded for Disher. Big spot here. Ole Miss coach is out to talk to Satterwhite. Line drive to LF. 2 runs score! The throw comes in. It bounces away! Darnell goes to third! It's 3-0 USC. 12:27 - Base hit to RF by Smoak! Havens scores. Merrifiels goes to third. Close play but he's safe. Smoak extends his hitting streak to 14 games. USC leads 1-0. 0 outs. 12:25 - Havens walks to open the B1. Merrifield bunts. It's a nice one. He collides with the Ole Miss player. The ball is knocked loose! Merrifield is safe! Havens goes to third. Runners on the corners for Smoak. 12:20 - Easy U-3 to Smoak for the third out. Cooper gets out of it without giving up any runs. We go to the B1 with the score 0-0. 12:15 - Cooper is struggling with his control here inthe 1st. He's walked two. There are 2 outs. Bloop single into LF. Bases are loaded for the Rebels. Big spot right here. 12 Noon - We're underway at SFF. Cooper strikeout the first batter. Good start. 11:45 - Here is USC's starting lineup wih current stats: Havens - 6 (.394-12 HR-41 RBI) Merrifield - 8 (.288-3-18) Smoak - 3 (.378-13-39) Darnell - 5 (.325-123-56) Disher - SH (.282-13-37) Lail - 9 (.279-3-19) Enders - 2 (.276-5-22) Mack - 7 (.250-4-11) Wingo - 4 (.192-2-8) Cooper - P (4-3, 3.42 ERA, 50.0 IP, 56 hits, 25 runs, 26 K, 11 BB) 11:40 - We're here for today's rubber game between USC and Ole Miss. It's a 12 Noon first pitch. This is a huge game for USC. All you need to do is look at the SEC East standings: Georgia 14-3 USC 10-7 Florida 10-7 Vanderbilt 9-7 Tennessee 9-8 Kenucky 8-9 If USC loses today, it runs the risk of falling 5 games behind UGA in the standings. With only 12 conference games left, that's a huge deficit, considering the Dawgs are going for their third sweep in a row. We'll have the lineups shortly.
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Garnet and Black Spring Game Blog
posted by Scott Hood, 4/19/2008 11:41:00 AM
2:55 - We're nearly the end of the springgame. 3 mins left. They're pretty much running out the clock now. Mostly reserves playing now. We're heading down to the media room. 2:47 - CC Whitlock turns a short pass into a gain down to the 3-yard line. Double reverse. Culliver picks it up and races the other way. He flips into the end zone. 75-yard fumble return! The Garnet team now leads 34-31. Garnet team has 27 straight points since halftime. 2:45 - End of the 3Q. Black leads 38-21. Garnet team has the ball. 12 minute quarters here in the 2H. Long pass attmept to CC Whitlock. PI on Jamire Williams. Black team has the ball at the 40. 2:40 - Taylor Rank gets a chance to run with the ball. Beecher lofts a pass to Matt Clements. First down at the 46. Gain of 17 yards. There's a TD pass to SCotty Spurrier! He was all alone. It looks like he came off the sidelines. But the penalty is declined! There's a moment of comic relief. It's 38-21 Black team. 2:32 - There's a pass from Beecher to Foxworth! The Black team is down to the 33-yard line. There's a Pick-6 by Mike Newton for the Garnet team. 82 yard Int return. That's the 8th interception of the day. It's 31-21 Black. 2:30 - We're underway inthe second half. Garnet team gets the ball first. They've driven allthe way to the Black 27. Nice catch by Saunders. There's another catch by Saunders over the middle. 2 straight to him. Garnet team now at the 10-yard line. Fourth down. TD pass to Saunders. he was all alone. It's 31-14. Clock is running here in the 2H. 2:25 - Here are some first half stats: Total Yards: Garnet 104, Black 255 yards; First Downs: G 4, B 10; Rushing Yards: G 7 for 1 yard, B 19 for 139 yards Passing Yards: G 103, B 116 Passing: G 7 for 22, B 9 for 20. Ind. Rushing: Maddox 8 for 78, Beecher 3 for 32. Ind. Passing: Smelley 7 for 22, 5 Int. 103 yards; Beecher 8 for 16, 106 yards, 2 Int. 2:05 - Bobby Wallace breaks loose for a 26-yard run. The Black team looking for a late score. They have the ball at the 39. Fourth down. Succop will try a 56-yard FGA. IT's GOOD!!!! Wow. B;lack team now leads 31-7. That's the final play of the 1H. We're at halftime. The players head to the locker room. 2:00 - Smelley to Clements for 18 yards. 1:14 left in 1H. Another pass to Lecorn doentothe 28. Smelley throwing the ball better here late in the 2Q. He looks for Saunders in the end zone. Broken up. Winfield broke it up. There's a pass to the left corer of the end zone. It's caught by Lecorn!! He's really come on late in spring practice. TS for the Garnet team. It's 28-7 Black with 52 seconds left in 1H. 1:55 - There's a punt. Black team has the ball back. Zac Brindise is QB. Sack. There's a rush by Eric Baker. That might be his 1st carry. ZB to Freeman. Punt at the 32. 1:49 left in 2Q. Smelley still the QB for Garnet. He scrambles for a first down. 1:50 - There's a punt. Black team has the ball back. 6:12 left in 2Q. Beecher pass complete to Whitlock. 3rd and short. Maddox breaks loose for 37 yard TD run. The Black team is trouncing the Garnet team, 28-0, with 5:20 left. Nice run by Maddox. BM has looked impressive today. 1:45 - Another interception thrown by Smelley! Auguste picks it off. Black team gets the ball back at midfield. That's 5 interceptions thrown by CS in the first 22 minutes of the game. 1:40 - There's the sixth interception of the game! Mark Barnes picks off his second pass. Black team has the ball at the 9-yard line. Mike Davis with the TS run! It's 21-0 Black team. 1:35 - End of the 1Q. Black leads 14-0. 5 interceptions in the quarter. Smelley has struggled so far. Beecher has looked better so far. 1:32 - The fifth interception of the 1Q! Stoney Woodson picks off Beecher at the 2-yard line. It has been an interception-fest here in the 1Q. Wow. Garnet take sover at the 2-yd line. 1:30 - Interception by Winfield! 4th interception of the game for both teams. Smelley has thrown 3 picks. TB out to QB the Black team. Holding penalty. Black team has the ball at the 31-yard line. 1:25 - Another great pass by Beecher! TS connection to Lecorn on post pattern. The Black team leads 14-0. 3:22 left in the 1Q. Garnet out out. Passd to Lecord. 5 yards. The WR are playing for both teams. 1:22 - Interception by Mark Barnes! Right at the goal line. Garnet team gets the ball back. Rollout pass to Latty Freeman! Nice pass by TB. There's TB on a 16-yard run. Beecher looks impressive right now. 1:20 - Interception by Shaq Wilson. Black team has thre ball at the 16. Hit on Saunders inthe end zone. He dropped the pass. Nearly a TD for the Black team. Timeout by Black team. 4:59 left in 1Q. B Team leads 7-0. 1:12 - Black team drives 65 yards in 10 plays to score the first TD of the game. Brian Maddox was the workhorse with 6 carries, including the final 4 plays. 1-yard TD run. The biggest plays were a 16-yard pass to Cook and a 18-yard run by Maddox. Garnet leads 7-0. Black team has the ball. Interception by Hail on second play. 1:00 - The Black team wins the toss. No kickoffs thoough. First play is a run by Maddox. McQueeney in at QB. Fumbled snap. 12:55 - We're almost ready for kickoff. I wold say right now there's 10,000 to 15,000 fans here. More fans are entering the stadium. The West Lower is about 75 percent full, but there's nobody in either upper deck. They just played the national anthem. We're ready for football. 12:35: According to the Notes we've been provided here are some important dates to remember: Sat. July 19 - Ladies Clinic Fri. July 25 - Spurrier/USC at SEC Media Days in Birmingham Thu. July 31 - Players Report for Fall Camp Thu. Aug. 28 - Opening Game v. N.C. State 12:30 - The entire team is going through stretching exercises right now. The Garnet team has garnet jerseys and white pants, while the black team has white jerseys and black pants. The quarterbacks and kickers are dressed to the max. Smelley is wearing a garnet jersey and garnet pants, while Tommy Beecher has a black jersey and black pants. They've just finished stretching. They'll break off into their positional groups. 12:30 - The entire team is going through stretching exercises right now. The Garnet team has garnet jerseys and white pants, while the black team has white jerseys and black pants. The quarterbacks and kickers are dressed to the max. Smelley is wearing a garnet jersey and garnet pants, while Tommy Beecher has a black jersey and black pants. They've just finished stretching. They'll break off into their positional groups. 12:15 - Here's the roster for the Black team: 3 - Auguste (CB) 4 - Winfield (LB) 6 - Beecher (QB) 6 - Ingram (LB)(INJURED) 7 - A. Williams (CB) 10 - Maddox (RB) 13 - M. Barnes (SS) 14 - Succop (K) 17 - Brindise (QB) 24 - Stewart (FS) 26 - Allen (S) 28 - Baker (RB) 35 - Hutton (FB) 40 - Norwood (LB) 46 - Snead (CB) 47 - DiMarco (FB) 48 - Shackleford (LB) 54 - Sanders (OG) 59 - Turner (DS) 62 - Andrews (OG) 65 - Broadhead (C) 66 - Eckerson (OT) 68 - Nunn (OT) 74 - Batchelor (OG) 81 - J. Brown (DT) 83 - Matthews (DE) 84 - J. Cook (TE) 87 - McGrath (TE) 92 - Byron McKnight (DE) 92 - Huegel (PK) 96 - Geathers (DE) 97 - Ellis (DT) 99 - J. Williams (DT) A bunch of recruits are on the field right now while most of the current players are going through their preliminary warm-ups. 11:50 - We're here at Williams-Brice Stadium for today's Garnet and Black Game. Kickoff will be at 1 p.m. There are a few players working out on the field right now, including RB Mike Davis and ER Joe Hills. Here's the roster for the Garnet Team: 5 - Thomas (CB) 7 - Smelley (QB) 10 - J. Williams (CB) 16 - McQueeney (QB) 17 - Culliver (FS) 20 - Rank (RB) 22 - Wallace (RB) 25 - Davis (RB) 28 - Hail (SS) 30 - Banag (FB) 31 - Gerrod Sinclair (LB) 34 - Lanning (P) 36 - Woodson (CB) 41 - J. Lindsey (DE) 42 - Robertson (DE) 42 - Newton (CB) 43 - Earls (S) 45 - Paulk (LB) 46 - Kingrey (FB) 49 - Wright (LB) 50 - Vaughn (DS) 54 - Brunson (DE) 57 - Jeanpierre (G) 58 - Guerry (LB) 60 - Campbell (G) 61 - Nicholls (DT) 63 - S. Brown (C) 69 - Grooms (DS) 72 - Richardson (OT) 77 - Meredith (OT) 78 - Sorensen (OT) 79 - Hall (DT) 80 - Gaston (TE) 88 - Saunders (TE) 90 - Foxworth (TE) 91 - Ajiboye (DT) 97 - N. Spurrier (PK) Spurrier has said that players may shift between teams, so don't be surprised if one of these players ends up on the Black team for a few snaps.
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USC-Clemson Baseball Blog - Wed. 4/16
posted by Scott Hood, 4/16/2008 06:26:00 PM
9:40 - Thomas still pitching. Strikeout. 1 out. Strikeout. 2 outs. Thomas is throwing BB's. F-9. USC WINS 6-0. USC SWEEPS!!!!!! 9:35 - Darnell rockets a ball down the 3B line for a double. He has 2 doubles and a SF tonight. Good night for the California Kid. Disher flies deep to CF. Darnell to 3rd with 1 out. Darnell stranded at third. WE GO TO BOTTOM OF THE NINTH WITH USC LEADING 6-0. 9:30 - Thomas K's Paulsen. WE GO TO THE NINTH WITH USC AHEAD 6-0. 9:25 - P-4 for the first out in B8. That's four putouts for Wingo tonight to go along with a seaosn-high 7 assists. That's the most assists by a USC player thisseason. F-7 for 2nd out. Here comes Tanner. That will be it for Godwin. What a performance. 7.2 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs so far. Craig Thomas is the new pitcher for USC. Four outs to the sweep. 9:20 - USC has loaded the bases with 2 outs. Smoak L-4. We go to the B8 with USC leading 6-0. 9:15 - Hopper walks with 1 out in T8, becoming the first USC base runner since thr fourth inning. Some CU fans have left the ballpark. They have had little to cheer about tonight. This might be the deadest crowd I've ever seen at a USC-Clemson baseball game. Single by Havens with 2 outs. He has three hits tonight. Havens came in batting .394 and he's 3-for-5 tonight. 9:10 - Leadoff single in the 7th for CU but Godwin retired the next 3 batters to preserve the shutout. We go to the T8 with USC leading 6-0. 5 of the runs scored in the fourth inning. Godwin has done a fabulous job making those runs stand up. If USC holds on, it will mark the first season sweep of 4+ games over Clemson since 1985. 9:05 - Darnell leads off the T7. F-8. Disher up. 8 USC hitters in a row retired. F-7. 9 in a row. F-8 by Lail. Another 1-2-3 inning for USC. It's seventh-inning stretch time. USC leads 6-0. 9:00 - Godwin blows a fastball past Paulsen for the second out. Here's everybody's favorite Tiger, Kyle Parker. We already know what Tommy Bowden thinks of Parker. Strikeout. The pants must have been too tight. We go to the T7 with USC leading 6-0. 8:50 - We're in the B6. The first CU batter reached on a strikeout and wild pitch. But Havens just made a nice play stabbing a pop in short left field. He had to run a long way. There's a single to LF. Runners at 1&2, 1 out. This is CU's best scoring threat tonight. It's also the first time CU has gotten a runner to second base tonight off Gidwin. 8:45 - USC out 1-2-3 in the T6. We go to the B6 with USC leading 6-0. Godwin still pitching for the Gamecocks. He's allowed just 1 hit with 3 K's. he's kept the ball inthe infield for the most part. Godwin could be the MVP for USC in the series based on the way he's pitched thelast 2 games v. Clemson. 8:40 - Another assist for Wingo. That's 7 tonight. The school record for a 2B in a single game is 9. We go to the T6 with USC leading 6-0. 8:30 - Quiet 5th for USC. 2K's and long fly to RF by Wingo. The Fr. is showing some power tonight. We go to the B5 with USC leading 6-0. Godwin still pitching for USC. Nice catch by Hopper near the LF line for the first out! 8:25 - There's the first hit for CU, a single to RF with 1 out. Bouncer to Darnell. 5-4-3 DP! That didn't take long. Godwin has faced just 1 batter over thre minimum through 4 Inn. It's 6-0 USC as we go to the T5. 8:20 - Darnell hits a rocket off the LF wall. What a drive! Merrifield scores. It's 5-0 USC. 10 hits for the Gamecocks, zip for the Tigers. USC is 22-0 this season when it outhits the opponent. Disher up. He lofts into LCF. The LF drops the ball!! Run scores. It's 6-0 USC. Five runs in the inning. We go to the B4 with USC leading 6-0. 8:15 - Double by Merrifield to LCF. Havens scores. It's 4-0 USC and with 1 out here in the T4. Here comes Leggett. New pitcher for CU. Great offensive outburst here in the T4 for the Gamecocks. The way CU hits the baseball, 4 runs might be enough. The magic number for USC is six runs, though. 8:10 - Home run for Scott Wingo!! Shot to RF. B2B for USC. No. 2 for him. The Gamecocks lead 3-0! That has to hurt for Clemson fans considering his father played at CU. Havens doubles to right! The hits just keep on coming for USC. They have 8 now in 3+ innings. 8:05 - 1 out. Hopper up. There's a drive to LF! It's way outta here! Home run. First of the season for Hopper. USC leads 2-0. 8:00 - Another 4-3 for Wingo. That's 3 assists and a putout tonight for the Fr. from Mauldin. Since he's from the Upstate and his father played for Clemson, competing against the Tigers has to be a thrill. K for secondout. There's another 4-3. 4 assists tonight for Wingo. His season high is 6. We go to the T4 with USC leading 1-0. 7:57 - Lail F-9 as well. We go to the B3 with USC leading 1-0. We'll see if Godwin can make the lead stand up. USC has five hits already. They probably should have more than one run. 7:55 - Great start for USC here in the T3. Merrifield and Smoak have both singled. Runners at 1&3, 0 outs. Darnell up. This has the makings of a big inning. There's a drive to CF. It's caught, but Merrifield scores. It's 1-0 USC. Disher due. USC is 20-5 this season when it scores first. Disher F-9. 2 outs. 7:50 - Another fairly uneventful inning for Godwin in the B2. He issued a 2-out walk but that was it. 4-3, U-3, P-4 are the 3 outs. He's retired 6 of 7. We go to the T3 with the score still 0-0. 7:42 - Havens up. There's a balk! Runners at 2&3. 2 outs. Hit here drives in 2 runs. Havens flies to center. USC had a good opportunity to score right there. The Gamecocks have left 4 runners stranded in the first 2 Inn. 7:40 - Lail was nearly picked off first. But he got back just in time. Base hit to RF by Hopper! Runners at 1&2, 1 out for Wingo. He K's on a 3-2 pitch. 2 outs. 7:35 - Lail opens the T2 with a single to center. That's the second straight inning the leadoff hitter has singled. Enders up. He drives one to RCF. But the Clemson CF makes a nice running catch. 1 out. Hopper up. 7:30 - Great start for Godwin with 2 K's. There's a 4-3 for the third out. That's what I call an easy inning. 1-2-3. We go to the T2 with the score 0-0. 7:20 - Smoak K's looking on 3-2 pitch. Darnell fouls out to RF. It's up to Disher now. He K's looking as well. Good job by Sarratt right there against the heart of USC's order. We go to the B1 with the game 0-0. 7:15 - Havens steps in against Justin Sarratt. We're underway. First pitch is a swinging strike. There's another base hit for Havens! Single to CF. He has 57 hits now. Merrifield up. He bunts. The P drops thre ball. Runners at 1&2, 0 outs. Smoak up. This could be interesting. 7:10 - We're a few minutes away from getting this one underway. The head coaches and umpires are meeting at home plate. Leggett is explaining thre ground rules. USC is wearing their road unforms that look like the NY Yankees/Chicago White Sox. I would say about the stadium is about 70 to 80 percent full right now. I haven't heard the buzz like in previous games. It's definitely a late arriving crowd. 6:45 - Here is tonight's starting lineup for USC with current stats: Havens - 6 (.394-12-41) Merrifield - 8 (.263-3-16) Smoak - 3 (.370-13-38) Darnell - 5 (.327-12-48) Disher - DH (.297-13-37) Lail - 9 (.294-3-19) Enders - 2 (.303-5-22) Hopper - 7 (.238-0-3) Wingo - 4 (.200-1-7) Godwin- P (3-2, 2.55 ERA, 42.1 IP, 28 hits, 13 euns, 42 K, 9 BB, .188 BA) Andrew Crisp's injury has certainly forced Tanner to make some adjustments to the lineup. This is just the second time in the last 14 games Hopper has started in LF. Four different players have started there this season. Tanner has also moved Merrifield back to the No. 2 spot after putting Lail there the past 2 games. 6:35 - We're here for tonight's USC-Clemson baseball game at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The main storyline here, of course, is the opposite directions the two programs have traveled the last couple of weeks. USC has rebounded from the UGA sweep to win six straight games, including a sweep at Auburn and a win over USC-Upstate Tuesday night Clemson enters the game with a 10-game losing streak. The Tigers' last win was a 6-2 win at Maryland on March 30, meaning they're winless in the month of April. Nick Godwin will start tonight's game. He's 3-2 with a 2.55 ERA. He has allowed 28 H and 13 R in 42.1 IP. Clemson is starting Justin Sarratt, who is 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 26.0 IP. He's allowed 25 hits and 10 runs. I'm interested in seeing how many Clemson show up for this game. If I recall correctly. the fourth game last year was not a sellout. We'll see how the CU fans respond.
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USC-USC Upstate Game Blog - Tues. 4/15
posted by Scott Hood, 4/15/2008 05:51:00 PM
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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Some Thoughts After A Weekend On The Plains
posted by Scott Hood, 4/14/2008 01:10:00 PM
Some thoughts following a successful three-day trip to the Plains of Alabama: FOOTBALL: I didn’t see it live myself, but Lee Corso’s prediction Saturday on the “Spring Game” version of ESPN’s College Football Game Day show that South Carolina would be the surprise team in the entire nation did catch me a little by surprise. In the past, Corso has always exclaimed how difficult it would be for USC to enjoy consistent success in the SEC. I know he loves Spurrier, so that helps. In the past, he’s seen Florida, Georgia and Tennessee sitting there and he’s wondered how the Gamecocks were going to get it done. I think his prediction for this season is based primarily on two factors: 1) most of the starters on defense return next season, including, most importantly, MLB Jasper Brinkley; and 2) the schedule. Of course, a number of things must occur for Corso’s prediction to come true. First, the run defense must show substantial improvement over last season. Yes, the stats were probably skewered by the abysmal showings against Arkansas and Florida, but all the game count. Frankly, if the run defense finishes in the top half of the SEC (that is Spurrier’s hope) and the secondary stays healthy (the injury to Captain Munnerlyn hurt USC immeasurably in the Florida and Clemson games last year) and plays well again, then there’s no reason why the defense couldn’t finish among the Top 20 in the nation. Second, Spurrier and John Hunt must settle on a starting five for the offensive line and let the unit develop some chemistry. Several of the players must develop a mean streak, as well. I know Spurrier feels some of the O-Lineman aren’t tough enough. But when we’ve spoken with John Hunt this spring, he’s been optimistic about the line and the fact they’re playing better than they did last year. We’ll see come Aug. 28. Third, USC must decide on a starting quarterback. I realize it’s a close battle right now between Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher, but someone must emerge. I’ve never been a big fan of two quarterback systems, and I hope Spurrier doesn’t go in that direction. Finally, USC has to start making plays late in close football games when the outcome is in doubt. That didn’t happen last season, with the Tennessee and Clemson games serving as the most glaring examples. If the Gamecocks develop some playmakers, I think they’ll be fine. That’s important because I expect every conference game plus the N.C. State and Clemson contests to be extremely close, hard-fought games. With so many questions on offense, USC won’t blow anybody out, but with a potentially great defense, no one will blow USC out either. When it comes to exciting finishes, it might be tough to top the 2008 season. As far as the schedule is concerned, USC will likely be favored in six of its first seven games. The only exception is Georgia. After that, it gets dicey. But LSU loses most of their defense, Arkansas doesn’t have Darren McFadden and Felix Jones anymore and Tennessee is sliding downward after a few years of mediocre recruiting and now they’ve lost quarterback Erik Ainge after being the starter for four years. Moreover, all three of those games will be at home. As far as the last two games on the schedule are concerned, USC lost by a mere point the last time they ventured to the Swamp and every USC fan knows what happened the last time the Gamecocks faced Clemson in the Upstate. BASEBALL: Eight days ago, few USC baseball fans could have envisioned the week that was about to unfold. The Gamecocks had just been swept by Georgia in a three-game series at Athens to fall to 6-6 in the SEC and they faced the prospect of playing arch-rival Clemson and then hitting the road again to Auburn. But a funny thing happened. They started winning again. They beat Western Carolina and Clemson on back-to-back nights before sweeping Auburn on the Plains, no small feat. Once the conference schedule starts, 5-0 weeks are rare commodities. I’m sometimes asked why the USC baseball team succeeds while the other big sports struggle. One of the most important differences I see is the mental toughness of the baseball team as a whole. Ray Tanner demands it, and USC usually responds. Of course, baseball plays four or five times per week, so they can get back out on the field quicker than some of the other sports. The nature of baseball is such that no team is going to go undefeated. But you have to be able to bounce back when the going gets tough. The best teams are the ones that are able to forget losses and move on. I was extremely impressed by what I saw at Auburn this past weekend. USC held on to win in all three games despite the fact Auburn had the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth in all three games. Friday’s game ended on a double play grounder with two runners on base. Saturday, USC trailed by two runs heading into the seventh inning and it took some two-out lightning in the eighth to score the go-ahead run Saturday. Yesterday, USC trailed 3-2 in the sixth inning before scoring in each of its last four at-bats. In short, USC made plays at the end of games to win. Was the football team was paying attention?
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USC-Auburn Sunday Game 3 Blog
posted by Scott Hood, 4/13/2008 02:14:00 PM
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 |
