University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
South Carolina
#1 South Carolina Completes Sweep of Vols 11-7
May 14, 2000 | Baseball
Columbia, S.C. - Marcos Rios and Chris Plummer each slugged two-run home runs and drove in three runs apiece as the South Carolina Gamecocks used a four-run fifth inning to pull ahead and defeat the Tennessee Volunteers, 11-7, for the three-game sweep.
South Carolina improved to 50-6 and 25-5 in the Southeastern Conference, while Tennessee finished its season with a 40-23 overall mark and a 10-18 league record.
Chris Burke went 3-for-5 to tie Jeff Pickler's Tennessee record with 109 hits and finish the season with a .401 batting average. He also stole four bases to push his total to 56 on the season.
Justin Parker hit his fourth home run in the ninth, driving in his third run, and the Vols added another run on an error make the final margin 11-7.
Scott Barber (7-1) picked up the win after tossing five innings in relief of starter Chris Spigner who lasted just two innings. John Wesley picked up his third save.
Devon Nicholson (2-1) took the loss after allowing eight runs on nine hit in 4 1/3 innings. Marlyn Tisdale finished the game for the Vols.
After striking for two runs in the first on Parker's two-run single, the Gamecocks tied the game at 2-2 in the second on a bases loaded sacrifice fly by Marcus McBeth and a sacrifice bunt by John McHenry.
Jeff Baumtrog's run scoring double put the Vols back up 3-2 in the top of the third, but McBeth delivered again with a two-run ground rule double in the bottom of the frame for a 4-3 South Carolina lead.
Once again, the Vols jockeyed back into the lead at 5-4 with two runs in the fifth on a double by John Massey and bunt single by Ryan Moffett that scored Massey after he advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Following the four-run rally in the fifth, the Gamecocks added two more in the sixth and one in the eighth for an 11-5 margin.
Tennessee 201 020 002 - 7 13 0S. Carolina 022 042 01x - 11 14 2Nicholson, Tisdale (5) and Massey. Spigner, Barber (3), Poston (8) and Pack, Whittaker (9). W-Barber (7-1). L-Nicholson (2-1). Save-Wesley (3). HR-UT-Parker (4). SC-Rios (1), Plummer (7). T-2:55. Att-4259.
