Gamecocks Stay Alive! 3-2 Over Vandy

Ray Tanner said in the press conference immediately following the game, "We’re very happy to be able to survive and advance. We’re coming off yesterday’s game where we get 15 hits and lose, today we get three hits and win. It’s a hard game to figure out sometimes." ...

They battled hard, Ransom and Mulins were outstanding for them. We had to get Rawl in there to get a couple of outs.

There’s really balanced coaching in this league. The athletic directors and administration have put the resources forth that make the SEC the best conference in the country.

(On the error by Klosterman that allowed 2 runs to score) — In defense of Ryan Klosterman, it took a bad hop. A lot of shortstops wouldn’t have been able to even make the throw.

(On the decision for Justin Harris to score from second on the throwing error) — He read it on his own, saw the the first baseman go down to his knee, and made the decision to go on his own.

(On the call 2 batters earlier when Tim Seaton slid in safely to third) — He was safe. (Umpire) Scott Irby was in the same situation last night in the Ole Miss game where he had a difficult call at the plate. Today he made the right call. I was right there helping him out, but he probably didn’t need my help. Seaton made a bad decision to try and advance, but he got underneath the tag.

Landon Powell — When I made contact, I knew I had hit it right to the shortstop. I’m not a fast runner so I knew I had to go. He had all day to throw me out. When I crossed first base, I looked and saw he bobbled the ball. It was good baserunning on our part to score the two runs.

David Marchbanks — I just tried to throw the ball in and out and for strikes and tried to make our defense work. They fought hard, had some great two-strike approaches, and put the ball in play a lot.

Carolina Holds On For 3-2 Win Over Vanderbilt At SEC Tournament

LHP David Marchbanks Strikes Out Season-High Nine Batters

The Following Is From USC Sports Information

Hoover, Ala. - South Carolina managed only three hits Friday but used two Vanderbilt errors to score three unearned runs and defeat the Commodores 3-2 to remain alive in the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament.

The Gamecocks will meet the loser of the Alabama-Auburn winners bracket game at 11 a.m., Eastern time, Saturday at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Alabama and Auburn were scheduled in a later game on Friday.

Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year David Marchbanks gave up 11 hits in 8 1/3 innings but was the winner to improve his record to a conference leading 13-2 with ninth inning help from reliever Aaron Rawl. Rawl used four pitches to register the final two outs and earn his sixth save.

Robert Ransom pitched the first seven innings for Vanderbilt and allowed only two hits and one unearned run but left with the score tied at 1-1. Ryan Mullins, 3-8, allowed one hit in two innings of relief but was the victim of two unearned eighth inning runs to take the loss.

South Carolina has defeated Vanderbilt 21 consecutive times dating back to the first game of the 1997 series, a 15-9 Commodore win at Columbia.

Jon Coutlangus walked with one out in the fifth inning and raced to third when Michael Campbell reached on an error by Vanderbilt second baseman Zach Simpson. Campbell scored on a sacrifice fly by Trey McDaniel to give South Carolina a 1-0 lead.

Vanderbilt tied it in the bottom of the sixth inning. Tony Mansolino singled with one out and was forced at second by Warner Jones. He moved around to score on consecutive hits by Jonathan Douillard and Worth Scott.

In the top of the eighth inning Steven Tolleson beat out a bunt for his second hit of the game and just the third by the Gamecock team. Pinch runner Tim Seaton moved to second on a sacrifice. Justin Harris grounded to Commodore shortstop Ryan Klosterman who threw to third in an attempt to get Seaton, who was safe on the fielder's choice. Brian Buscher grounded to the mound and was out with Harris moving to second and Seaton holding at third. Both Seaton and Harris scored on an error by Klosterman.

Trailing 3-1, Vanderbilt staged a rally in the bottom of the ninth inning. Marchbanks struck out Simpson to open the half inning, the ninth strikeout by Marchbanks, but pinch hitter Mickey Kropf singled and was replaced by pinch runner Gil Kim. Klosterman walked and John Kaye singled to drive in Kim with the second Vanderbilt run. Rawl replaced Marchbanks and on his first pitch Cesar Nicholas popped up to second base. Three pitches later Tony Mansolino ended the game with a fly ball to Coutlangus in center field.

Aside from the two by Tolleson, South Carolina's only other hit was a fourth inning single by Buscher which stretched his current hitting streak to 13 games. The SEC's leading hitter with a .391 average, Buscher had a 14 game streak at the beginning of the season.

Ten of the 11 hits off Marchbanks were singles. The only extra base hit of the game was a seventh inning one out double by Klosterman. Klosterman, Kaye and Scott had two hits apiece for the Commodores.

Sophomore left-hander Matt Campbell, 5-3, is South Carolina's probable Saturday pitcher and coach Ray Tanner said "We are very happy to survive and advance in this tournament after dropping our game yesterday. This is a funny game. Yesterday we had 15 hits and lost while we were only able to manage three hits today and won."

Tanner added that he believed the SEC coaching is second to none. "The SEC has assembled arguably the best baseball conference in the nation and you can tell by the scores of this tournament so far."