Carolina moves on in SEC tourney

Posted 9:14AM on Saturday 25th May 2002 ( 23 years ago )

HOOVER, ALABAMA - South Carolina coach Ray Tanner has no delusions about the difficult task facing his team. David Marchbanks pitched 7 2/3 strong innings to lift the top-seeded Gamecocks to a 6-2 win over Arkansas Friday night in the Southeastern Conference tournament. Now, all South Carolina (46-13) has to do to return to the championship game is beat red-hot LSU twice on Saturday. Easy, right? ``Did you ever climb Mt. Everest?'' Tanner quipped. ``I think it's very, very difficult, but the good thing is we've got a crack at it.'' Marchbanks (9-3) scattered nine hits in his second longest outing of the year, and closer Blake Taylor gained some redemption from a rare poor outing. The Gamecocks scored two runs in both the second and fourth, thanks partly to several defensive miscues by the Razorbacks (31-26). South Carolina's Gary Bell was 3-for-5 with an RBI and led off the second with a double down the right field line. Starter Jarrett Gardner (3-3) recorded two outs but left fielder Cliff Crouse misplayed Kevin Melillo's RBI single, allowing Melillo to take second. He scored on a throwing error by second baseman Scott Bridges. In the fourth, Landon Powell had an RBI double and another run scored when catcher Cody Clark lost his grip on the ball faking a throw to second base. The ball dribbled all the way to the third-base dugout. ``We really could have been in this thing,'' Arkansas coach Norm DeBriyn said. Taylor relieved Marchbanks with two outs in the eighth and earned his 18th save. Crouse led off with his fourth homer of the season and Ryan Fox drew a two-out walk. That was the first walk Marchbanks issued. ``His biggest key has always been throwing strikes,'' said Powell, his catcher, who was 3-for-4 and added a key defensive play for good measure. ``Any team would have trouble hitting him when he's throwing strikes.'' Taylor gave up a single, then got Jeff Fletcher to pop up to right. Taylor, who led the league in saves, had been rocked for four runs in an inning in Friday night's loss to LSU. The biggest play in the inning might have come when Powell gunned down Clark trying to steal second for the second out. Clark was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Bell was 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Gamecocks. Brian Buscher extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a single up the middle in the third. The Gamecocks, already a virtual lock to host an NCAA regional site, are chasing their first SEC tournament title. ``It's nice to be able to survive and advance,'' Tanner said. FLORIDA 5, MISSISSIPPI ST. 0 Keith Ramsey still has Mississippi State's number. The Florida left-hander tossed a six-hitter to keep the Gators alive in the Southeastern Conference tournament with a 5-0 victory over the Bulldogs on Friday. The Gators (42-16) must beat Alabama twice on Saturday to make the championship game. The Crimson Tide have won the past 12 meetings dating back to 1997, including Thursday's 7-4 victory. Ramsey (8-3) struck out seven batters and walked two, improving to 3-0 against the defending champion Bulldogs (34-24-1), who were eliminated. ``Keith Ramsey was just outstanding, pitching on both sides of the plate and competing,'' said first-year Florida coach Pat McMahon, who left Starkville after last season. ``When it's tournament time, some people have got to step up and Keith did that.'' It's a mystery to Ramsey why he has allowed seven hits and no runs in 20-2/3 career innings against Mississippi State. ``They're a good hitting team, we all recognize that,'' he said. ``Sometimes the breaks go your way. Those breaks have to happen for a shutout in college baseball.'' Chris Young (5-2), making his fourth career start, allowed only an unearned run in the second inning through seven. Then, Florida loaded the bases with nobody out in the eighth to chase him from the game. All three runners scored after reaching on a hit batter and a pair of line drives that bounced off the gloves of Young and second baseman Chad Henry for singles. Ryan Shealy, who was 3-for-5, followed with a one-out, two-run single off reliever Jonathan Papelbon and Ben Harrison added an RBI single. Mississippi State got back-to-back singles in the ninth but Ramsey got Brent Lewis to fly out to right to end the game. Now, the Bulldogs are hoping they've done enough to earn an NCAA regional bid. ``Yeah, we deserve it. But are we going to get it? Who knows?'' coach Ron Polk said. Polk puts the odds at about 50-50, but his players disagree. ``If we're not in, there's something wrong,'' shortstop Matthew Maniscalo said. ``There's no excuse why we shouldn't get in this year.'' Down 1-0, the Bulldogs came within inches of tying the score in the sixth. Jon Mungle led off by planting the ball at the bottom edge of the yellow strip of paint atop the center field fence for a triple. Ramsey issued a two-out walk to Matthew Brinson, but stranded both runners with a strikeout of Steve Gendron. Florida has won eight of the last 11 meetings with Mississippi State. McMahon spent 14 years as an assistant in Starkville under Polk. He took over during Polk's two seasons at Georgia.

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