University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
South Carolina
Vols Fall At South Carolina, 10-6
May 10, 2002 | Baseball
May 10, 2002
Columbia, S.C. -- Yaron Peters drove in five runs as the No. 4 South Carolina Gamecocks rallied from a 4-0 deficit to defeat the Tennessee Volunteers, 10-6, before a crowd of 4,561 at Sarge Frye Field.
Peters, who went 2-for-4 with a walk, gave the Gamecocks (38-11, 17-7 SEC) a 5-4 lead in the second with a bases-clearing double and extended the lead to 9-5 in fifth with a two-run single.
Also getting in on the hit parade was Trey Dyson who slugged his 15th home run driving in South Carolina's first two runs in the second, and Steve Thomas who had a two-run double in the fourth as the Gamecocks took a 7-5 lead. Thomas and Landon Powell led SC with three hits apiece.
Matt Sternberg doubled twice, extending his hitting streak to 13 games, while Ryan Moffett went 4-for-4 while Jordan Czarniecki collected three hits to pace the 13-hit Tennessee attack.
Aaron Rawl (3-1) earned the victory in 4 1/3 innings of relief, allowing two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and one walk.
Blake Taylor picked his league-leading 15th save as he logged the final two innings.
Ben Riley (5-3) took the loss as the Gamecocks roughed him up for seven runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings. He didn't help his cause by issuing five walks while striking out two.
Tennessee (24-26, 9-16 SEC) sent nine men to the plate as it quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second thanks four hits and a Gamecock error. Brandon Hopkins got things started with a two-run single while Sternberg plated him with a double off the right field wall. Sternberg would later score with two out when Czarniecki roped a base hit to left.
The damage would see starter Gary Bell leave the game after 1 2/3 innings, his shortest start of the year. He was tagged for four runs (two earned) with one strikeout.
The lead was short lived as the Gamecocks rallied for five runs in the bottom of the frame, also sending nine men to the plate. Following a lead off walk, Dyson's two-run shot off the scoreboard in right field to cut the lead to 4-2. Then with two out, Peters gave the Gamecocks a 5-4 lead as he delivered a three-run double down the left field line.
After Moffett tied the game 5-5 leading off the third with his fifth home run, South Carolina retook the lead, 7-5, in the fourth on a two-run double by Thomas with one out.
Peters extended South Carolina's lead to 9-5 in the fifth as he lined a two-out single up the middle, while Tennessee would add a single run in the sixth on a single by Nick Crowe that scored Sternberg who doubled and took third on a ground out.
Thomas plated on Dyson's sacrifice fly in the eighth as South Carolina added an insurance run for a 10-6 lead.
Beau Massey worked the final 4 2/3 innings in relief of Riley, giving up three runs on four hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
Game two of the series will be Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. It will be televised on FoxSportsNet.
