UT hangs on to beat Gamecocks; SEC roundup

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Posted 7:59AM on Sunday, May 12, 2002

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Junior left-hander Jeffrey Terrell pitched a complete game and held off a ninth-inning rally by South Carolina to lead Tennessee to an 8-7 victory in Southeastern Conference action Saturday. Tennessee (25-26, 10-16) got on board first with two runs in the first inning. South Carolina (38-12, 17-8) answered in the bottom of the inning with Yaron Peters' solo home run his first of the game and 18th of the season. Tennessee got two more runs in the top of the third, but South Carolina answered again with two runs to make it 4-3 after three. A solo home run by Nick Crowe, his second of the season, drove Marchbanks from the mound in the fifth inning and the two-run homer by Hal Bibee Jr. off reliever Chris Spigner made it 7-3. Single runs by South Carolina in the fifth and sixth innings, including Peters' second homer in the fifth, cut the lead to 7-5, but Tennessee used two walks, a sacrifice bunt and a fielder's choice to score a run in the seventh inning without a hit. South Carolina's lead in the SEC Eastern Division race narrowed to half a game over Florida, a 6-3 winner Saturday over Louisiana State. Terrell improved his record to 5-7 with his second complete game. South Carolina starter David Marchbanks (7-3) took the loss. ALABAMA 9, MISSISSIPPI ST. 7 TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - Brent Boyd's two-run double in the seventh inning gave Alabama the lead as the Crimson Tide beat Mississippi State 9-7 on Saturday. Boyd scored Peter Stonard and Jeremy Brown to give Alabama a 7-6 lead during a four-run seventh inning for the Crimson Tide (42-9, 19-7 Southeastern Conference). Boyd was 3-for-4 with three RBIs for the night. Scott McClanahan was 2-for-3, including a first-inning home run. Steve Gendron was 2-for-5 and Casey Long was 2-for-4 to lead Mississippi State (28-21, 11-14). Travis Garner followed Boyd's double with his own down the left field line, scoring Boyd to give Alabama an 8-6 lead. Garner then stole third base and scored on Beau Hearod's sacrifice fly to center field, making the score 9-5. Brian Reed (4-0) allowed one run and three hits in four innings for the win. He walked two and struck out three. Jonathan Papelbon (2-4) got the loss. He allowed four runs on four hits in two innings. He walked one and hit one batter. ARKANSAS 11, OLE MISS 5 OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - Arkansas scored 10 runs in the seventh inning, three on a triple by Michael Conner, to defeat slumping Mississippi 11-5 on Saturday. The Rebels (35-15, 14-12) have lost three straight Southeastern Conference series. Ole Miss built a 4-0 lead highlighted by a two-run single by Seth Smith in the third and Bryce Morrison's solo homer leading off the fourth. The Razorbacks' big inning started with a single by Scott Bridges, who was 3-for-3. Five more hits and three Rebels' errors followed, including Cody Clark's two-run single and Conner's bases-clearing triple to left center. Nick Pitt gave Arkansas (27-21, 10-13) a 10-4 lead with a sacrifice fly that capped the seventh inning eruption. Scott Roehl (3-0) pitched 6 1-3 effective innings in relief of Gary Hogan Jr. Roehl allowed eight hits and two runs with seven strikeouts. Alan Horne started for Ole Miss and allowed six hits and four runs in 6 1/3 innings. Adam Yates (1-1) allowed three unearned runs and didn't retire a batter in relief of Horne. T.J. Beam, the third Rebels' pitcher used in the seventh, allowed three hits and four runs in 1 2/3 innings. FLORIDA 6, LSU 3 GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - Aaron Davidson and Pat Osborn each hit two-run home runs, and Alex Hart won for the 12th time as Florida beat LSU 6-3 on Saturday. Davidson got Florida on the board, and Osborn gave the Gators (37-14, 17-9 Southeastern Conference) a 4-2 lead in the third inning. Matt Goss doubled, diving in two insurance runs in the seventh and helping Florida even the three-game series heading into Sunday's finale. Hart (12-1) overcame a rough start to extend his SEC lead in wins. He allowed five hits and two earned runs in 8 2/3 innings. He also walked four and struck out nine. Jamie Goldfarb got the last out for his fourth save. The Tigers (34-17, 15-10) scored twice in the first inning. Hart walked J.C. Holt and Aaron Hill to open the game. They scored on Willy Pontiff's double. But Hart settled down, retiring the next three batters, to get out of the early jam. Brian Wilson (7-4) gave up eight hits and six runs in 6 1/3 innings. He walked four and struck out one.