March 12, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C.--The date March 11 was circled on the Yale baseball team's calendar as the highlight of the spring trip--the start of a two-game series against No. 5 South Carolina in the Gamecocks' home ballpark. The Bulldogs were up for this game, and they played like it. Behind solid pitching from four different hurlers and Trygg Larsson-Danforth's 3-for-5 day at the plate, Yale (3-5) upset the fifth-ranked Gamecocks (9-3), 5-3, at Sarge Frye Field on Tuesday night.
"That's one of the best wins of my career," Mazzuto Family Head Coach John Stuper said. "That may be our best win as a program in 12 years. In recent years, I've just been happy when we scared them (South Carolina). I'm very proud of our guys. Overall, this is a great team win."
Yale starter Stefan Schropp (1-0) was brilliant in his first start of the year. The only run he allowed was a solo home run to Harley Lail leading off the bottom of the second. With the Bulldogs leading 3-1 and a runner on in the bottom of the fifth, All-American first baseman Justin Smoak came to the plate. Smoak crushed a fastball 400 feet to right field, but it was foul. On the next pitch, Schropp came back with the exact same pitch and got Smoak looking to end the inning. That was the last pitch Schropp threw. He gave up three hits, walked three and struck out four in five innings.
After the Gamecocks took the lead on Lail's homer, Yale went in front with a two-run fourth. The first six Yale batters in the inning reached base. Gant Elmore walked leading off the inning, moved to second on a wild pitch, then advanced to third on a balk. After Ryan Lavarnway walked, Jake Doyle's fielder's choice knocked in the run to make it 1-1. Doyle advanced to second on Andrew Moore's single, which brought up Larsson-Danforth, who got the start at first with Schropp on the mound. Larsson-Danforth delivered the go-ahead RBI single that chased South Carolina starter Nick Godwin from the game.
The Bulldogs made it 3-1 in the top of the fifth. Josh Cox belted a single to center field, then moved to third when centerfielder Whit Merrifield misplayed it. After Elmore was hit by a pitch, Yale had two runners on with nobody out. Lavarnway and Jake Doyle both struck out, but the Bulldogs pushed the run across when Elmore's great jump to second induced a balk, which allowed Cox to score.
Chris Walsh gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth, but Yale got it right back when Lavarnway led off the top of the seventh with a blast to left field, his third homer in two games and his fifth of the season. He now has 25 career home runs, one shy of Tony Paterno's school record.
South Carolina made it 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh when DeAngelo Mack belted a solo home run to right field. After Walsh walked the next batter, James Darnell, Stuper called upon freshman lefty Vinny Lally to turn the switch-hitting Smoak around. Lally got Smoak to fly to right, then Kyle Enders popped to second to end the inning. Lally retired the Gamecocks in order in the eighth before giving way to closer Steve Gilman in the ninth.
The Bulldogs added an insurance tally in the top of the ninth when pinch hitter P.J. Gorynski walked, then stole second. Larsson-Danforth was up next and delivered in another clutch spot, belting an RBI single to left-center.
Walsh, Lally and Gilman combined to pitch the last four innings and yielded just four hits and two runs with four strikeouts and three walks between them. Lally pitched 1.2 scoreless innings and retired all five batters he faced, including two strikeouts. Gilman struck out two in the ninth to earn his second save of the season.
"It begins and ends with pitching," Stuper said. "Our guys were fearless and threw strikes. Schropp was phenomenal, and the bullpen really came through. Our pitchers shut down what many consider to be the best offensive team in the country."
Offensively, Larsson-Danforth and Cox each went 3-for-5, while Larsson-Danforth drove in two runs. The Bulldogs smacked 10 hits as a team.
South Carolina was held to just five hits, and no Gamecock had more than one. Smoak went 0-for-2, while fellow All-American Reese Havens was 1-for-3 at the plate. Godwin (1-2) took the loss after surrendering three hits and two runs while striking out four and walking two in 3.1 innings. Parker Bangs tossed 2.2 innings of effective relief. He gave up four hits and one unearned run while striking out seven. Justin Hopper and Alex Farotto combined to toss the final three innings and gave up two runs between them.
The teams meet again on Wednesday night, with the first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. Righty Chris Finneran will start for the Bulldogs and right-hander Sam Dyson will get the ball for the Gamecocks. The game can be heard live free of charge or watched for a fee on South Carolina's official website, www.gamecocksonline.com.
Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity