NCAA REGIONALS
SOUTH CAROLINA 9, WOFFORD 1
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Harris Honeycutt allowed only one run through five innings while Justin Smoak homered twice to lead top seeded South Carolina to a 9-1 win over Wofford in the first round of the Columbia regional Friday evening at Sarge Frye Field.
Honeycutt gave up only five hits while striking out seven of his 30 batters faced. Smoak added three RBIs and three runs while going 2-for-2 with three walks at the plate. Shortstop Reese Havens also had three RBIs on a double and a single.
John Brandt added an RBI for Wofford with a two-out single in the first inning. Brandt finished 2-for-4 while Bradford Eaves, Eric Sturkie and Adam Wood each contributed a single.
In its first ever NCAA Regional appearance, Wofford claimed an early 1-0 lead before South Carolina matched the Terriers with a run in the same frame. The Gamecocks then added two more in the second and three more in the third to go up 6-1 before Smoak launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to seal the win.
Wofford struck first with a two-out RBI single by left fielder John Brandt in the top of the first inning. With leadoff man Michael Gilmartin on second and third baseman Brandon Waring on first following two walks, Brandt slapped a 1-2 curve ball to right field to send Gilmartin across the plate.
Gamecock first baseman Justin Smoak knotted the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the first with a solo home run. Wofford starter Ben Austin retired the first two batters on a strikeout and a flyout to right field, but Smoak go ahold of a 2-2 pitch and pulled it over the right field fence. Austin then ended the inning by striking out cleanup hitter Phil Disher.
South Carolina took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the second on a two-out two-RBI double by Reese Havens. After Trent Kline singled through the right side to open the inning, Austin forced two straight outs, but walked Steven Reinhold to put runners at first and second. Havens then approached the plate and ripped the second pitch he saw down the right field line just past the glove of a diving Adam Wood to send in both runners.
The Gamecocks loaded the bases in the bottom of the third and put together back-to-back singles to score three runs and go up 6-1. Third baseman James Darnell and first baseman Justin Smoak drew two straight walks to begin the inning before Austin struck out Disher for the second time in the game. Kline then drew another walk to load the bases before outfielder Andrew Crisp smacked a line drive single through the left side to send in Darnell. Jon Willard then hit a blooper that dropped into left field to send in Smoak and Kline.
South Carolina threatened to add another run in the bottom of the fourth, but right fielder Sterling Dye gunned down Darnell at the plate after he tried to score from second on a single. Darnell became the first Gamecock to reach base in the inning with a single through the left side. He advanced to second on a wild pitch before Kline roped another base knock to right field. Dye fielded the ball and came up firing to catcher Keith Munns who initially bobbled the ball, but tagged Darnell after he failed to touch the plate with his head first slide.
Wofford second baseman Eric Sturkie saved a run with a diving stop on a potential RBI ground ball up the middle in the fifth. The ground ball would have scored Willard, who reached second on a pop fly that center fielder Bradford Eaves lost in the sky, but Sturkie dove to his glove side, came up with the grounder and threw to first in time to end the inning without a run. Willard's popup was ruled a double after Eaves lost track of it in the night sky and allowed it to fall safely in shallow left center field.
Honeycutt began to lose gas in the top of the sixth and Wofford looked to take advantage, but the junior right hander pitched out of a jam without allowing a run. Following a lineout to the outfield by Brandt, the Terriers put two runners on base after Wood ripped a line drive back up the middle and Dye drew a walk. South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner then went to the mound to speak with Honeycutt, and he responded with a strikeout and a fly out to end the threat.
Austin started the sixth inning for Wofford, but a walk to Jones prompted the Terriers to call on senior Lance Player who escaped the inning without allowing a run. Player forced Darnell to fly out to center field for the first out of the inning, but issued two straight walks to Smoak and Disher to load the bases. Player kept him composure, however, and forced a groundball to Sturkie at second base that the senior converted into an inning-ending double play.
Havens knocked in another RBI in the seventh to put South Carolina up 7-1. The base knock to left field scored Willard who reached on a hard hit grounder to shortstop that Gilmartin knocked down, but could not come up with for the groundout.
Smoak added his second homer of the game in the bottom of the eighth to put the Gamecocks up 9-1. The two-run blast down the right field line plated Darnell, who singled up the middle. Disher then followed with another single which signaled the end of the night for Player. Junior southpaw Chip Hunt then took the mound for Wofford and ended the inning by forcing Crisp to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.
Left hander Will Atwood toed the rubber for the Gamecocks in the top of the ninth and struck out the side to end the game. Honeycutt (8-5) picked up the win for South Carolina after holding Wofford to one run on five hits over seven complete innings. Honeycutt struck out seven batters and walked four while tossing 122 pitches.
Austin (11-6) took the loss for Wofford after allowing six runs on eight hits through five innings. Austin struck out six batters to bring his season total to 96, which is the most by any Terrier since 1988 when Mike Dennis struck out 97 hitters. After allowing six runs through the first three innings, Austin settled down and allowed just three hits through the next two.
Wofford will face No. 2 seed North Carolina State in the second round of the tournament on Saturday, June 2 at 2 p.m. The Wolfpack lost 6-3 to No. 3 seed Charlotte on Friday to fall to the loser's bracket. Austin Redwine (7-5) will take the mound for Wofford. Redwine is coming off two straight victories in the Southern Conference tournament, including a four-hit, one-run effort in the championship game in which he notched his 20th career victory.
NCAA REGIONALS
EAST CAROLINA 9, WESTERN CAROLINA 8
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. ? East Carolina captured its first lead of the game off a two-RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the eighth to cap a five-run rally which spanned two innings as the Pirates came from behind to down Western Carolina, 9-8, Friday afternoon in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA Baseball Championship Chapel Hill Regional. WCU fell to 1-14 all-time against ECU as the Pirates have won 13 straight since the Catamount’s lone victory 30 years ago.
With WCU’s fourth-straight loss ? which ties its season-long losing skid ? the Catamounts are relegated to the loser’s bracket game at 1:00 pm on Saturday afternoon where they will face the Atlantic-Sun champion, Jacksonville (34-27). The Dolphins were shut out the host North Carolina Tar Heels, 6-0, on Friday evening.
Trailing 8-4 following a three-run top of the sixth inning for Western, East Carolina (40-21) used a three-run, pinch hit home run by Corey Kemp to left field to answer, pulling back within one, 8-7. Holding WCU scoreless over the final three frames, the Pirates’ Jamie Ray laced a sharp ground ball single up the middle with the bases-loaded in the eighth inning to score the go-ahead run, capping the rally.
Junior reliever Greg Holland suffered the loss for WCU ? his second-straight defeat in relief ? tossing an inning and two thirds in relief allowing two runs, only one of which was earned, on three hits with three walks. Junior starter Tyler Sexton worked five innings for the Catamounts, surrendering four runs, three earned, on seven hits with seven strikeouts on 100 pitches. The High Point, N.C., native was lifted with a 4-3 lead and did not factor in the decision. Freshman Chris Masters pitched an inning and a third giving up three earned runs, including the three-run home run to Kemp, on five total hits with a pair of strikeouts looking and one walk.
Western (40-19) led the 28th-ranked Pirates for the first seven and a half innings after jumping on top, 3-0, in the visitor portion of the first inning. The Catamounts capitalized on a lead-off single by junior Barrett Shaft who despite continuing to nurse severe shin splints returned to the lineup as the designated hitter. Junior Blake Murphy drew his first of two walks on the day with his classmate, Steven Strausbaugh, loading the bases after being hit by a pitch on a 1-2 count. Southern Conference consensus Player of the Year, Kenny Smith, then drove in his first of two runs on the day, plating Shaft with an RBI single through the left side.
With the bases still loaded, junior Jonathan Greene was hit by his school single-season record 21st pitch of the season to drive in the second run, with Strausbaugh scoring the final run of the first on a double-play ball hit by senior John Ingram to give Western the 3-0 advantage.
Yet, in the bottom of the frame, the Pirates answered with a pair of runs after Sexton recorded two outs through the first two batters. Yet, three-consecutive base hits, including an RBI double by right fielder Ryan Tousley, pulled ECU back within a run, 3-2.
The Catamounts managed to plate runs in both the second and third, manufacturing a run off a lead-off single by senior Donnie Wilson in the second and the 24th double of the year by Smith in the third. Wilson came home off an RBI double to left center by Murphy, while Smith raced home on an attempted double-play turn along the infield off the bat of freshman Nick Liles, who was credited with a fielder’s choice and RBI on the play.
In the bottom of the third, trailing 5-2, East Carolina again struck with two out as an RBI single to center field by first baseman Brandon Henderson scored eventual hero, Ray, to close the gap to a pair, 5-3. A solo home run by Tousley to right center sliced the deficit to one, 5-4, after five innings of play.
Western Carolina seemingly seized control of the game in the top of the sixth inning, posting a three-spot to take the largest lead of the game at four runs, 8-4. Shaft again singled to open the frame in front of Murphy, who hammered one to straight-away center field where Pirate outfielder Harrison Eldridge robbed the Waynesville native of at least extra bases ? if not a home run. Strausbaugh delivered a one-out single to put two aboard in front of Smith, who came through with an RBI single.
With a 1-1 count the next batter, junior Jonathan Greene, WCU head coach Todd Raleigh signaled a hit-and-run which the Cats executed to perfection. With both runners taking off from their respective bases, Greene poked one through the right side for a base hit, scoring Strausbaugh with Smith moving to third on the play. Yet a throwing error by the Tousley in right allowed Smith to scamper home, with heads-up base running by Greene allowing the Boone native to advance to third with only one out. The Catamounts were able to load the bases with back-to-back walks by Liles and Ingram, but were unable to do further damage as another double-play turned by the ECU infield ended the threat.
Half an inning later, Kemp’s three-run homer spurred the rally, with Ray’s bouncing ball, two-run single in the eighth pushing East Carolina into the winner’s bracket game against North Carolina.
For East Carolina, Jason Neitz (5-2) came on in the seventh inning and worked an inning and two thirds shutout innings for his first victory since April 13. Closer Shane Mathews pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save. Pirate starter, T.J. Hose (6-6) exited in the third after allowing a lead-off double to Smith, and was touched up for five runs on six hits.
Shaft led Western with a 4-for-5 outing at the plate before being lifted for a pinch runner in the top of the seventh inning. Also posting multiple hit games for the Catamounts were Ingram (3-for-4) and Smith (3-for-5), with Strausbaugh and Wilson each finishing with two base hits apiece.
Saturday’s game against Jacksonville will be aired by the Catamount Sports Network and can be heard in Western North Carolina on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee or online at www.WWCUFM.com <http://www.wwcufm.com/> . Air time on Saturday is set for 12:45 pm, with a 1:00 pm first pitch.