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Tracy Glantz/tglantz@thestate.com/
USC pitcher Blake Cooper started the game against Tennessee.
GoGamecocks.com
USC finds relief late in victory over Vols
Gamecocks' bullpen outperforms Tennessee's in SEC-opening victory
Teammates congratulate Adrian Morales on his two-run homer in the first inning.
Tracy Glantz/tglantz@thestate.com
Written by CHRIS DEARING
Special to The State
Posted on 03.19.10
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USC vs. Tennessee
WHEN: Sunday, 1 p.m. (rescheduled to start 30 minutes earlier)
WHERE: Carolina Stadium
SERIES: USC leads 42-33
RECORDS: USC 15-4 (2-0), Tennessee 10-9 (0-2)
RANKINGS: USC is No. 16 in Baseball America; Tennessee is unranked
PITCHING MATCHUP: USC LHP Tyler Webb, Fr., 0-1, 3.45 vs. Tennessee RHP Stephen McCray, Sr., 2-1, 0.73
Runs were at a premium with Blake Cooper and Bryan Morgado on the mound Friday in the SEC opener between South Carolina and Tennessee.
But the Gamecocks' bullpen performed better, and USC defeated the Vols 4-2 in front of 6,211 at Carolina Stadium.
Three USC relievers combined to pitch a perfect 2 2/3 innings in support of Blake Cooper. Their outing allowed the Gamecocks (14-4, 1-0 SEC) to rally with a two-run eighth inning.
Freshman Ethan Carter was the last of the three pitchers. He went 1 1/3 to pick up his first career win. He struck out Josh Liles to end the eighth and got Matt Duffy looking to end the game.
Michael Roth struck out the two batters he faced, and Jose Mata retired the two he faced.
USC's Jackie Bradley, who had been out of the lineup since Sunday with stitches in his left thumb, drove in the winning-run with a one-out single in the eighth. Kyle Enders followed with a sacrifice fly as USC stretched its winning streak to eight.
South Carolina took a 2-0 lead off Morgado in the first inning. Whit Merrifield opened with a single before Adrian Morales drilled the first pitch he saw into the left-field bleachers for his first career home run.
After that, all the Gamecocks could muster off Morgado was a Scott Wingo single in the third inning. Morgado, a third-round draft pick last year, walked four and hit two batters as he struggled with his command; only half of his 110 pitches were strikes.
He lasted seven innings, and the Gamecocks took advantage once they got int the Tennessee bullpen. Merrifield and Morales singled off reliever Will Locante to set the stage for Bradley.
Cooper was nearly flawless through the first five innings and didn't have a runner advance past first base. The only three baserunners the Volunteers had came via a walk to Zach Osborne in the first, two-out single by P.J. Polk in the third, and a hit-by-pitch by Matt Duffy with two outs in the fifth.
Tennessee threatened in the sixth before finally breaking through in the seventh inning. Polk and Osborne singled to lead off the sixth inning before Cody Hawn reached on an error to load the bases. Cooper induced Cody Stubbs to ground back to the mound to start a 1-2-3 double play.
Liles ended the threat by flying out to left field with runners at second and third.
Blake Forsythe walked to lead off the seventh. One out later, Duffy doubled down the left-field line to put runners at second and third. Pinch-hitter Charley Thurber grounded sharply to first, and the ball glanced away from Nick Ebert, allowing both runners to score.
The Gamecocks missed an opportunity in the seventh when they had runners on first and second with one out, but a double play ended that threat.
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