Junior right hander Harris Honeycutt (7-0, 1.43 ERA) fanned 11 Florida
hitters on the way to his 15th consecutive victory since first putting
on a South Carolina uniform. Second baseman Travis Jones provided the
offense with two home runs as the fourth ranked Gamecocks ripped the #22
Gators 12-2.
Honeycutt won seven games last season without a loss. He won one game without a loss as a true freshman before missing the 2005 season with a medical redshirt.
Jones led the Carolina hitting attack by going 3 for 4 with a pair of home runs and five RBI’s. Center fielder Andrew Crisp went 3 for 5 with two RBI’s. Each player scored three times.
Florida dropped to 19-14, 7-3 in the Southeastern Conference. They remain a full game ahead of both South Carolina and Vanderbilt, who beat Alabama 3-0.
South Carolina (25-6, 6-4) wasted little time getting started. Leadoff hitter Harley Lail singled to left field and later stole second base. With one out, catcher Trent Kline hit a fly ball just beyond the right side of the infield. Shortstop Cole Figueroa and second baseman Avery Barnes failed to communicate and ran into each other misplaying the ball. Lail scored on the play, while Kline advanced to second. Figueroa was charged with the error on the play.
The Gamecocks put another run on the board in the top of the second inning when they bunched three hits together off Florida starter Bryan Augenstein.
Carolina exploded for four runs in the third inning off Augenstein. The damage was done with two out and one on in the frame. Right fielder Andrew Crisp ripped a two-run home run over the left field fence. Left fielder Robbie Grinestaff followed with a single to left. Second baseman Travis Jones unloaded on an Augenstein offering that cleared the left field bleachers for yet another two-run shot giving the Gamecocks a 6-0 lead.
Florida loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Catcher Cody Neer singled to center field. Matt den Dekker then followed with a single to right field before leadoff hitter Jon Townsend walked on four straight pitches. However, Barnes dribbled the ball back to the pitcher who threw on to first base for the third out of the inning.
Crisp led of the Carolina fifth with a single and scored on Grinestaff’s double to center field. He later scored on Reese Havens sacrifice fly to center field for the Gamecocks 8^th run of the contest.
Barnes struck out with two men on base to end the sixth inning. He was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and was replaced in the lineup by Clayton Pisani when the Gators took the field in the top of the seventh.
Honeycutt lasted through six and was relived by Alex Farotto in the seventh and Seth Wideberg to start the eighth. The Gators rallied With two outs, Hampton Tignor walked and moved to second on den Dekker’s single. Townsend drove in Tignor with a single to right field. Pisani then singled to score den Dekker for the Gators second run.
Augenstein (3-4) pitched 6.1 innings, allowing 14 hits and 10 earned runs while throwing 115 pitches. He struck out seven Carolina batters.
The bright spot for Florida offensively was Cody Neer, who went 3 for 3 to raise his average to .293.
Florida will start true freshman left hander Tony Davis (2-0, 0.87) against South Carolina sophomore left hander Will Atwood (1-1, 2.45). The first pitch is scheduled for 4pm at McKethan Stadium.