March 8, 2000
SOUTH CAROLINA DEFEATS
FURMAN TO MOVE TO 16-0
COLUMBIA, SC - Three different Furman pitchers gave up home runs to the first
batter they faced Wednesday night and South Carolina added two more homers to
defeat the Paladins 13-2 and improve the ninth ranked Gamecock baseball record
to 16-0.
Coach Ray Tanner used six different pitchers by pre-arrangement with left-hander
Brett Price, 2-0, who worked the first four innings, getting the win. Rusty
Putnam, the first of six Furman pitchers, took the loss as the Paladins dropped
to 5-12.
Nate Janowicz led off the bottom of the first inning off Putnam with a home
run for the third time this season. Janowicz has four homers for the year. Brandon
Pack greeted relief pitcher Tom Mastny with a two run homer, his fifth, in the
fourth inning and Brennan Dees homered on the second pitch by Brian Beaumier
in the sixth, the fourth of the year by Dees.
Tripp Kelly hit his team leading eighth homer in the fourth inning and Bryon
Jeffcoat hit his first in the sixth. Dees also had a triple and Pack a double
in a 16 hit South Carolina attack.
Janowicz and Pack had three hits, Dees and Drew Meyer two and six players
had one hit each as the Gamecocks, off to their best start ever, moved to within
one game of the school record 17 game win streak set in 1975. The Gamecocks
wound up an 11 game home stand and travel to Auburn to open Southeastern Conference
competition with a three game series beginning Friday.
South Carolina is ranked ninth this week by USA Today/Baseball Weekly, 11th
by Collegiate Baseball, and 12th by Baseball America. Auburn, 16-3 on the season,
is ranked fourth by USA Today/Baseball Weekly, sixth by Collegiate Baseball,
and eighth by Baseball America.
Furman scored in the fifth inning on a walk, a wild pitch and an error and in the ninth on a double by Adam Etherington, an infield out and a wild pitch. Clint Hill had two of seven hits by Furman.