Clemson Falls To South Carolina

April 18, 2001

Columbia, SC – No. 16 South Carolina scored in every inning but the first and second on its way to a 9-3 victory against No. 12 Clemson Wednesday night at Sarge-Frye Field.

Drew Meyer was 3 for 5 with one RBI and Chris Plummer went 2 for 4 for the Gamecocks with two RBIs as South Carolina moved ahead 2-1 in this season’s four-game series between the two rivals. Gary Bell pitched 6 2/3 innings allowing just two earned runs off five hits and struck out six to improve to 7-4 on the season.

Clemson started the scoring in the top of the third inning, scoring one run without the aid of a hit. Ryan Riley walked to start the inning and then was moved over on a sacrifice bunt by Kyle Frank. Frank was safe on the play, thanks to an error by the first baseman. Riley and Frank were advanced on the second sacrifice bunt of the inning and then Riley scored on the third sacrifice of the inning a fly out to right field.

South Carolina answered in the bottom of the inning with a run of its own. After a walk by Sheldon Brown, Meyer doubled and as Brown rounded third, he tripped on the base. The Gamecocks ended up getting the run after a wild pitch by Tiger starter Matt Henrie. South Carolina took the lead in the fourth inning, scoring twice after stringing three hits with the aid of a walk to take a 3-1 advantage.

Plummer made it 5-1 in the fifth inning on a single that scored Michael Floyd and Bryon Jeffcoat. Floyd had reached on a fielder’s choice and Jeffcoat on a single. South Carolina scored one run in the sixth.

Clemson added a pair of runs in the seventh to pull within 6-3. Russell Triplett and Riley each had base hits and then both scored on a double by Frank. South Carolina got the two runs back in the bottom of the inning on a Landon Powell home run that also scored Tripp Kelly, who had walked to start the inning. The Gamecocks took an 8-3 lead through seven and then added the ninth run in the bottom of the eighth.

Henrie got the loss for the Tigers to drop his record to 4-2. Kip Bouknight earned the save for South Carolina, which improved to 30-11. Bouknight threw 2 1/3 innings without allowing a run and recorded four strikeouts against the seven batters he faced. Clemson fell to 26-14 with the loss. The two teams will play again April 25 in Clemson, which will be the fourth and final game between the teams of the season.

Clemson will host Georgia Tech this weekend. The first pitch on Friday will be at 7:15 PM with Saturday’s game beginning at 7:00 PM. The series will conclude on Sunday at 2:00 PM. All three games will be broadcast on the Clemson Tiger Network with Saturday’s game to be televised by College Sports Southeast.