Evan Marzilli's diving catch was one of the few positives for USC tonight.
Hoover is not kind to the Gamecocks.
After scraping by with a 5-3 victory yesterday, South Carolina managed barely any offense and fell to Florida tonight by a score of 7-2. They are done in the conference tournament and will await the announcement of regional host sites on Sunday. Their record is 40-17 overall.
Florida scored early, easily, and often tonight. They got on the board in the first inning when Mike Zunino (whose name I got really tired of hearing) knocked an RBI single to bring Nolan Fontana (whose name I love) home from third.
They tacked on another run in the next inning, when Josh Tobias got an RBI single of his own to score Casey Turgeon.
Things only got worse as Zunino homered in the third, a two-run shot that made the score 4-0. That was enough to end USC starting pitcher Colby Holmes’ day. Unfortunately for the Yardcocks, the Gators still had runs left to score.
In the fifth inning and with the bases loaded, reliever Evan Beal walked in a run, giving UF a 5-0 lead. He struck out the next batter, but was then touched for a two-run single by Turgeon. Those were the last two runs that would come in for the Gators, but the hole was far too deep for Carolina.
USC finally got on the board in the sixth, after Tanner English legged out an infield single and Chase Vergason singled to put runners on the corners. Joey Pankake brought English home while also grounding into a double play. That ended the shutout, but still left the boys in garnet down by six with only a few innings to go.
In the bottom of the ninth and down to their final out, Evan Marzilli smacked a double to left field which Christian Walker followed with an RBI single to make the score 7-2. Sadly, that was the end of the rally.
Florida dominated at the plate and in the field against Carolina. (Photo by Leslie Koerdt)
Carolina was outhit 11-5 and only four Gamecocks tallied a hit. Vergason led USC at the plate, going 2-for-3, Fontana also went 2-for-3 to lead UF.
Holmes had a rough day on the mound, lasting only 2 1/3 innings. He allowed four runs on five hits, issued a walk, and struck out two batters. Beal went 2 1/3 innings as well, giving up three runs on four hits, walking two, and striking out three.
Nolan Belcher, Forrest Koumas, and Logan Munson combined for the remaining 4 1/3 innings and held the Gators scoreless. Belcher and Koumas each allowed a run and a walk. Belcher K’d four batters, Koumas struck out one. Munson was perfect in his 2/3 of an inning of work.
To add insult to injury, or injury to insult, as it were, Koumas had to leave the game when he re-aggravated his right elbow injury from earlier in the season. He will likely not be available next weekend, according to Ray Tanner.
Florida starter Brian Johnson (I got really tired of hearing his name, too) pitched his first ever complete game (of course) and needed only 89 pitches. His record improves to 7-4. Holmes took the loss, his first of the season, and drops to 6-1 on the year.
Carolina struggled against Florida more than once this year, which I can’t help but feel balances out how well we did against them in the CWS last year. If these two teams meet again in Omaha this year, the Yardcocks need to find a new strategy, because what they’ve done so far this season hasn’t really worked out.
There were few bright spots for the Cocks tonight, although a diving catch late in the game by Marzilli was definitely one of the highlights. Many people, including the team’s official twitter account and some of the players, petitioned on twitter for it to make the SportsCenter Top 10.
While the loss is disappointing, it’s not really a tragedy. South Carolina hasn’t done very well in Hoover since 2004, when they won the tourney, and early exits the past two years didn’t stop them from becoming the College World Series champs. That being said, Tanner will likely work his guys a little extra to make sure that they’re prepared for the NCAA Tournament.
“We can get some extra practices in,” Tanner said after the game. “This isn’t a holiday weekend.”
There are definitely plenty of things to work on before the next round of games start (offensive production being the utmost priority), and this loss may end the chances of being a national seed, but there’s no reason to think the Cocks’ chances at threepeating are doomed or anything drastic like that.
Florida, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Mississippi State are the only four teams left in the SEC Tournament. The Wildcats and Bulldogs will face off in the first game tomorrow and the Gators and Commodores will play after that. The title game is on Sunday.
