April 4, 2001
SEVENTH-RANKED SOUTH CAROLINA TOPS FURMAN 8-2
GREENVILLE -- Nationally seventh-ranked South Carolina belted three home runs and got solid work from five different pitchers to defeat Furman 8-2 in front of 3,258 fans at Greenville Municipal Stadium Wednesday night.
South Carolina (25-7), which came into the game with 57 home runs in 31 games, got long balls from Sheldon Brown, Tim Whittaker, and Chris Plummer to help snap a three-game losing streak and avenge a 5-4 early season loss to Furman (18-14) in Columbia.
David Marchbanks (4-1), a freshman lefthander from nearby Mauldin, S.C,, earned the win after going 4.0 innings and yielding one run, two hits and two walks while recording one strikeout.
South Carolina, which banged out 14 hits, was paced by Michael Floyd (3-for-5, 2 runs) and Brown (3-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 runs). Derek Norman led Furman, going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
The Gamecocks grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a leadoff single by Tripp Kelly and two-out, two-run home run to right field by Sheldon Brown off Paladin starter Rusty Putnam (0-3)
South Carolina added a run in the third to make it 3-0 after Tim Whittaker walked with one out, advanced to second on a passed ball, and came home on Michael Floyd's single.
Furman made it 3-1 with a run in the third when Adam Etherington doubled with one out and came home on Derek Norman's two-out double to right center off Marchbanks.Chris Valdes then reached on the Gamecock's second error of the inning, but Marchbanks got Brian Presnell on a fly to left field to end the inning.
Brown's one-out double to left center off Paladin reliever Mike Dugan in the fifth led to the Gamecocks' next run, After Drew Meyer struck out, Marcus McBeth doubled down the right field line to plate Brown and give South Carolina a 4-1 advantage.
Michael Floyd walked with one out in the seventh, stole second, and scored on a single to left by Chris Plummer to make it 5-1, and after Furman cut it to 5-2 on an RBI single by Derek Norman in the bottom of the inning, South Carolina struck for three runs in the ninth with a solo home run by Whittaker and two-run blast to right by Plummer off Paladin reliever Danny Rueckel.
Furman returns to action on Friday when it takes on College of Charleston in Charleston at 7:00 p.m. game. South Carolina hosts LSU in Columbia on Friday beginning at 7:00 p.m.