April 17, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina starter Sam Dyson threw the first complete game of his career, holding Auburn to just three runs on six hits, as Auburn dropped the series opener in Columbia, 8-3, on Friday night. Kevin Patterson hit his sixth home run of the season for Auburn in the loss, upping Auburn's SEC-leading total to 80 on the season.
"(Dyson) overmatched us. We didn't have many opportunities with only eight base runners all night long," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "He got stronger as the game went on and we had heard coming into the game that he has one of the better fastballs in the league and he certainly lived up to that tonight."
Dyson (6-2) had never gone longer than seven innings before throwing all nine on Friday, matching his career-high with eight strikeouts on the night against just one walk.
Auburn (24-14, 7-9 SEC) jumped on top with a single run in the top of the second thanks to some heads-up base running. Ben Jones led off with a walk and went to third on a sharp grounder by Brian Fletcher that shot off the arm of diving South Carolina shortstop Bobby Haney and into no man's land down the left field line, allowing Jones to hustle to third. Casey McElroy's groundout to short allowed Jones to scamper home with McElroy's 21st RBI of the season.
South Carolina (25-13, 8-8 SEC) answered by stringing together three straight singles to start the bottom of the second, with all three hits turning into runs for the 3-1 lead. Parker Bang's single scored Jackie Bradley, Jr., Haney's groundout to short scored Andrew Crisp and Scott Wingo's double scored Bangs. South Carolina had a chance to have an even bigger inning but a strong throw by Trent Mummey from center to Tony Caldwell nailed Wingo at the plate trying to score from second on a Whit Merrifield single.
Patterson's home run led off the top of the third and drew Auburn to within a run at 3-2. The home run joined the 2009 team with the 1997 and 1998 squads as the only Auburn teams to ever hit 80-or-more home runs in a season.
South Carolina extended the lead to four runs with a three-run bottom of the fifth to take a 6-2 lead. DeAngelo Mack hit a one-out single and went to second on Nick Ebert's walk. Bradley, Jr., then hit a ball deep in the hole at short that McElroy was able to stop from going into the outfield but as he threw wide to first, Mack was able to score the innings' first run. Crisp then doubled to the wall in left center, scoring both Ebert and Bradley, Jr.
Fletcher's seventh RBI in the last two games narrowed the margin to a three run game at 6-3, scoring Mummey from third after the center fielder was hit by a pitch, went to second on a Joseph Sanders single and stole third, his 12th stolen base of the season.
South Carolina added two runs in the bottom of the eighth, knocking Auburn starter Grant Dayton out after a two-base error by Jones in right. Chris O'Neil relieved Dayton and allowed a one-out single to Haney. A Wingo sac bunt moved Haney to second before Merrifield drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Mack's liner back up the middle ricocheted off of O'Neil's forehead into right, allowing Haney to score from second and putting runners on the corner. Ty Kelley came in for O'Neil, who was taken out for precautionary reasons, and got a soft grounder out of Ebert to end the inning.
Dayton (2-4) lost for the third time in his last five outings, allowing seven South Carolina runs on 11 hits, which marked the fourth time this year that he has allowed double-digit hits, while the six earned runs was also a season high.
"Grant gave us a chance to win and that's all you can ask of your starter. He went out there and battled and kept us in the ball game. Unfortunately we didn't have the offense to support him," Pawlowski said.
Fletcher and Patterson each finished the night with two hits while Mack led all hitters with three hits. The two teams will play the second game of the series at 3pm CT on Saturday in a game televised live by SportSouth. Auburn will send R-Fr. RHP Jon Luke Jacobs 3-2, 6.00 ERA) to the hill while South Carolina will counter with Fr. LHP Nolan Belcher (2-1, 3.73).
South Carolina 8, Auburn 3 (Apr 17, 2009 at Columbia, SC)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Auburn.............. 011 001 000 - 3 6 2 (24-14, 7-9 SEC)
South Carolina...... 030 030 02X - 8 13 0 (25-13, 8-8 SEC)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Win-Sam Dyson(6-2) Loss-Grant Dayton(2-4) T-2:33 A-6784
HR AU - Kevin Patterson (6).
Weather: 69 degrees; Sunny
