SOUTH CAROLINA EARNS 2-1 WIN OVER FLORIDA IN 11 INNINGS IN CWS
CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Omaha, Neb - For the second straight game, the Gamecocks used a pair of
throwing errors to score the winning run in extra innings, as No. 4
national seed South Carolina outlasted the No. 2 national seed Florida
Gators, 2-1 in 11 innings, in the first game of the best-of-three
College World Series Championship Series on Monday night in Omaha.
With one out in the 11th, Christian Walker, who was playing with a
fractured hamate bone in his left wrist, singled up the middle. With
Walker attempting to steal second base, catcher Mike Zunino’s
throw sailed into centerfield, allowing Walker to scramble to third.
Centerfielder Bryson Smith’s throw then bounced past the third
base bag and into the stands, allowing Walker to score the go-ahead run.
“I knew it was going to take a lot of pain specifically for me
not to play,” said Walker. I can’t say enough about
(South Carolina athletic trainer) Brainard Cooper and Dr. (John) Walsh
and Dr. (Chris) Mazoue (of USC Orthopedics & Sports Medicine) and
(also) everybody at Methodist Hospital for doing everything they
did. And you know, for the last half of yesterday, I think I
didn’t think I was going to be able to play. But you know,
they came out and really – I mean I’m speechless about
it. They did a great job. I can’t thank them
enough.”
Florida (53-18) got on the board first in the bottom of the third
inning without the benefit of a hit. Tyler Thompson led off the inning
with a walk, was sacrificed to second, moved to third on a wild pitch
and scored on Cody Dent’s sacrifice fly.
The lead lasted until the eighth when the Gamecocks (54-14) finally got
to Gator starter Hudson Randall. Peter Mooney led off with a walk,
moved to second on Robert Beary’s sacrifice bunt, advanced to
third on Evan Marzilli’s fly to center and scored on Scott
Wingo’s clutch two-out RBI single up the middle.
Wingo’s hit was his first since going 4-for-4 in the MCWS opener
against Texas A&M on June 19.
“Randall had my number all night,” said Wingo.
“That last at-bat, I think I swung through two sliders and I just
said to myself: Stay late. If I get beat inside, I get beat
inside. He threw another curveball and I was able to hit it up
the middle.”
The Gators had a strong opportunity to win the game in the bottom of
the ninth. With John Taylor on the mound for Carolina, Zunino opened
the inning with a walk. After failing on two sacrifice bunt attempts,
Brian Johnson laced a single to right field, advancing Zunino to third.
John Adams was intentionally walked to load the bases with no one out.
With the infield pulled in, Wingo made a diving stop on Tyler
Thompson’s grounder and threw to the plate to nail Zunino for the
first out. Daniel Pigott then bounced into a 4-2-3 inning-ending double
play, sending the game into extra innings.
“After we got an out and the infield was in and Pigott comes up,
he’s a good runner,” said South Carolina head coach Ray
Tanner. “We turned it the hard way. Would we have
been able to turn it had (the defense) been back and you would say,
well, maybe, because it seemed like a tailor-made double play.
But he runs really well and you can’t be close, even if you
don’t get a double play you get the out at the plate and
you’re still playing. My coaches are sitting there and we
were afraid that he’s such a good runner that he could stay out
of a double play. That’s why I kept (the infield) in.”
“I’m out there to make plays,” added Wingo.
“John gave us two ground balls, so that was big. I just
focus on the ball. Big pick by (South Carolina catcher Robert)
Beary. Real big pick by Beary.”
Both teams had a chance to score in the 10th. The Gamecocks had runners
on first and second with one out before Nick Maronde, the fourth Gator
hurler, worked out of the jam. The Gators nearly plated the winning run
in the bottom of the frame when Zunino singled to left, but Jake
Williams gunned down Dent, who was trying to score from second base, to
end the threat.
“I had one of those weird intuitions that the ball was going to
get hit to me, honestly, and I was just ready to make an accurate throw
and try to get it in the air and make it have a close chance for a
play,” said Williams. “The ball was sure enough hit
to me and I got a good throw on it.”
Taylor worked two scoreless innings of relief to earn the win and
improve his record to 8-1, while Maronde (0-1) was tagged with the
loss. Matt Price worked around a leadoff single in the 11th for his
19th save of the season. That save matches Texas’ Corey
Knebel for the national lead. Price picked up his first-ever MCWS
save and now has 29 in his career, one short of the school record 30
set by Rob Mosser (1990-93).
Carolina’s bullpen has a 4-0 record and a 0.00 ERA in 17.2
innings of work in Omaha.
Forrest Koumas, the Gamecock starter, was effective in his first
experience at the College World Series. He worked 5.2 innings, allowing
just three hits and one run with one walk and four strikeouts. The
freshman hurler, who was making his first appearance since a
four-inning stint against Stetson on June 5, threw 86 pitches, 54 for
strikes.
“Coach Meyers just told me to stick to what I’ve been
doing, hitting the spots and let the defense play behind me,”
said Koumas.
Hudson Randall, the Gators’ sophomore right-hander, allowed just
three runners through the first seven frames - a first-inning double by
Christian Walker, an infield error on a ball hit by Adrian Morales in
the second, and a fourth-inning single by Morales. He left the contest
after tossing 7.2 innings in which he surrendered just three hits and
one run with one walk and six strikeouts. He threw 84 pitches, 56 for
strikes.
“Incredible college baseball game,” said Tanner.
“I thought we were going to have trouble getting a guy on base
there for a long time against Hudson Randall. He was very
special. You see (Danny) Hultzen (of Virginia) a few nights ago,
and you see Randall go out there tonight. Although they are
different guys, they have one thing in common; they’re very
special on the mound. We were just able to hang in there and keep
to a minimum. Forrest did a nice job for us being a true freshman
on this stage, he kept us alive and we were able to eventually tie it
up with Wingo’s hit. But so many opportunities for them and
we were able to get a couple of atom balls to keep them from taking the
lead and Jake throws out a guy at the plate. We were just very
fortunate to be able to win tonight.”
The Gamecocks have now tied NCAA records with 15 consecutive postseason
wins and 10 consecutive wins in the College World Series.
Carolina is 3-0 in one-run games at the MCWS this year and 13-3 for the
2011 season in one-run contests. As a team, South Carolina has a
1.24 ERA in nine NCAA Tournament games. The Gamecocks’
bullpen is 6-0 with four saves and a 0.56 ERA in 32.1 innings and has
not allowed an extra base hit. Taylor’s 49th appearance for
the season puts him alone in second on the NCAA’s single-season
list. His 77 career appearances have him seventh all-time at
Carolina.
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