Spring Break
Harris' heroics provides comeback spark
Kellen Holtzman
Issue date: 6/3/09 Section: Sports
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Harris tied the game with a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth -- two innings after officials collected all-tournament ballots -- before giving the Pirates a 10-9 win in the 10th. His two-out single scored burly DH Kyle Roller from second, just ahead of the throw by center fielder Whit Merrifield.
"He's a great talent and a great player," Gamecocks coach Ray Tanner said of Harris, a sophomore right fielder.
"Whit came up with a great throw to the plate, but it just wasn't in time. That's a part of the game."
The Pirates fell behind 6-0 in the third inning, before clawing back to within 7-6 in the seventh inning. Carolina added two more runs in the eighth before Harris's home run in the ninth.
Senior first baseman Brandon Henderson scored on the homerun and witnessed the walk-off hit from first base after drawing an intentional walk.
"It was by far the greatest moment of my college career," Henderson said of the ending.
Harris already had one of the weekend's top plays, a leaping catch at the right-field wall to save a home run Sunday, but his run production had been modest. He came into Monday's clincher batting .357 in the regional with one RBI -- a home run against Binghamton on Friday.
"You guys see everything he does on the field, but you don't see what he does off the field," ECU senior third baseman Drew Schieber said. "That kid works so hard -- in the weight room, in the batting cage. Countless hours. For him to come up like he did, I'm so proud of him. It just shows that hard work does pay off."
Harris called his ninth-inning home run off Gamecocks standout Sam Dyson the biggest hit he's ever had.
"Once that happened, I thought we had the game in the bag," Harris said. "He got up 0-1 in the count, so I kind of anticipated that he was going to come off-speed. He hung a slider and I made good contact with it."
Harris finished the game 4-for-5 with five RBI. His fellow outfielder Trent Whitehead was named Most Outstanding Player-but Harris, the All-Tournament Team snub, stole the show.
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