April 30, 2011
COLUMBIA, S.C. - No. 2 South Carolina used a three-run fourth and a six-run seventh to pull away for a 10-2 series-clinching win over Auburn on Saturday night at Carolina Stadium. The loss dropped the Auburn baseball club to 23-20, 9-11 SEC and snapped its string of three straight SEC series wins.
"South Carolina pitches extremely well and I thought we left the zone a little bit too much. It was not a great ballgame for us tonight," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "When they scored six runs in the inning we just couldn't shut the inning down. If we could have gotten out of that inning we would have kept it close but it's tough to come back from that."
Auburn, which was held to five hits a night after getting just seven, hit two home runs to account for all of its scoring with Kevin Patterson (1-for-3) blasting his eighth of the season with two down in the fourth and Justin Fradejas (1-for-3) depositing his third of the season into the Auburn bullpen in left-center with one down in the eighth.
Derek Varnadore (4-2) took the loss for Auburn, allowing five runs (four earned) in 3 1/3 innings, the shortest outing of his career. During his stint on the mound he surrendered five hits and three walks without recording a strike out, the first time that has happened all season.
South Carolina's big innings were fueled by walks, hit batters and errors as Auburn walked one, hit two and committed an error in the fourth and then walked three and committed another error in the seventh as South Carolina (34-8, 16-4 SEC) recorded just five of its 11 hits while scoring those nine runs. Auburn's pitching combined to issue seven walks and did not record a strike out, the first that has happened all season.
Colby Holmes (4-1) kept the Auburn hitters off balance all night, surrendering four hits and three walks in 7 1/3 innings while striking out seven, though he did allow both home runs.
Adrian Morales (0-for-2), Evan Marzilli (2-for-3, 2 R) and Robert Beary (1-for-3, R) each drove in two runs from the sixth, seventh and eighth spots in the South Carolina lineup while Brady Thomas (2-for-3) and Jake Williams (2-for-4) scored a combined five of South Carolina's 10 runs from the four and five holes.
The game was tied at 1-1 after the top of the fourth as Morales (0-for-2, 2 RBI) had given South Carolina an early one-run lead in the second with the first of his two sacrifice flies.
Auburn will try to salvage the final game of the series at 3pm on Sunday on ESPN. Auburn will send Jr. LHP Cory Luckie (1-1, 4.60 ERA) to the mound while South Carolina will send Fr. RHP Forrest Koumas (4-0, 2.85) to the hill.
South Carolina 10, Auburn 2 (Apr 30, 2011 at Columbia, SC
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Auburn.............. 000 100 010 - 2 5 2 (23-20, 9-11 SEC)
South Carolina...... 010 300 60X - 10 11 1 (34-8, 16-4 SEC)
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Win-Colby Holmes(4-1) Loss-Derek Varnadore(4-2) T-2:35 A-8242
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