#4 South Carolina Shuts Out #2 Tigers 12-0 Saturday

March 3, 2007

Clemson, SC –

Fourth-ranked South Carolina hit three home runs on its way to a 12-0 victory over #2 Clemson in front of 6,217 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It was the first of four meetings between the two rivals this season. South Carolina improved to 9-1, while Clemson fell to 7-2.

Harris Honeycutt (4-0) pitched 7.0 scoreless innings to earn the win. The righthander, who threw 111 pitches, allowed just two hits and four walks with seven strikeouts. Tiger starter David Kopp (1-1) allowed seven runs on six hits in 5.1 innings and suffered the loss.

The Gamecocks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Cheyne Hurst led off the game with a double down the left-field line. Two batters later, Justin Smoak doubled to left-center, plating Hurst. Phil Disher followed with a single up the middle on a 1-2 pitch to score Smoak, giving South Carolina a 2-0 lead.

South Carolina upped its lead in the third inning. Hurst led off with a walk and went to second on Lonnie Chisenhall’s single to left-center. Two batters later, Phil Disher blasted a three-run homer into the wind in right-center, giving South Carolina a 5-0 lead. It was Disher’s fourth home run of the season.

The Gamecocks added to their lead with another long ball in the sixth inning. Trent Kline singled and Andrew Crisp followed with a walk. James Darnell then fouled two balls that both fell harmlessly after the wind carried the ball out of the fielder’s reach on what would have been routine outs. Darnell capitalized on the extra opportunities with a three-run homer to left field, his fifth of the season.

Smoak made the score 10-0 with a two-run, opposite-field homer down the left-field line in the seventh inning. Hurst also scored on the play after he led off with an infield single. Disher then reached and advanced to second base on a throwing error. After Kline walked, Andrew Crisp lined a single to right-center to score Disher and advance Kline to third. Darnell followed with an infield single to plate Kline, giving the Gamecocks a 12-0 lead.

Smoak had a team-high three hits and three RBIs, as the Gamecocks totaled 12 hits in all. Disher and Darnell added four RBIs apiece as well. Brad Chalk and J.D. Burgess had Clemson’s only hits.

Clemson was shut out at home for the first time since 2002 when N.C. State blanked the Tigers 3-0 on April 6, 2002. The Tigers had gone their previous 165 home games without being shut out.

Clemson will travel to Columbia to take on South Carolina on Sunday at 1:30 PM.