April 11, 2015
GAINESVILLE, FLA. – South Carolina senior first baseman Kyle Martin hit for the cycle but 10th ranked Florida belted out 13 hits on the way to a 12-5 win over the 20th ranked Gamecocks on Saturday night at McKethan Stadium. Florida is now 27-9 and 8-6 in the SEC with South Carolina now 23-13 and 6-8 in league play.
Martin became the first Gamecock since Brendan Winn to hit for the cycle, which occurred February 14, 2004 vs. Charleston Southern. Martin reached base in all five plate appearances going 4-for-4 with a walk. He is now hitting .386 for the year with a .472 average (25-for-53) in 14 SEC games.
Martin gave the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run homer. After Max Schrock’s one-out single, Martin crushed a 1-2 pitch from UF starter Dane Dunning over the center field wall.
Florida batted around in the second inning to score four runs and take a two-run lead. The Gators caught a break with one out as Josh Tobias struck out but reached first base on a wild pitch. After JJ Schwarz walked, Buddy Reed singled to center field to score Tobias. With two outs and runners on first and second, Ryan Larson knocked a RBI single to tie the game. After Dalton Guthrie’s walk, Richie Martin drove in a pair with a single up the middle to give Florida a 4-2 lead.
The Gators extended the lead to 7-2 in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, Larson singled up the middle and Guthrie reached base on an infield single. That set the stage for Richie Martin, who knocked a 1-0 pitch over the left-centerfield wall for a homer, his third of the season. The Gators added two more in the sixth inning and one in the seventh including a RBI double from Richie Martin.
South Carolina got a pair of runs back in the eighth inning. Jordan Gore led off with a single to center and Madison Stokes doubled off the wall in right field. Both would score on DC Arendas’ two-run single up the middle. Florida added two more runs in the bottom half of the eighth with Harrison Bader completing Florida’s scoring with his 10th homer of the year.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, Martin triple down the left field line to complete the cycle. He then scored on Elliott Caldwell’s RBI base hit up the middle.
The Gamecocks finished with 11 hits at the plate with seven of nine starters with at least one hit. Richie Martin was 3-for-5 with six RBI to lead Florida. Guthrie, Bader, Tobias and Larson had two hits apiece as well for the Gators.
GAME CHANGER
Florida batted around to score four runs in the bottom of the second and take a lead they would not relinquish.
KEY STAT
Florida was 9-for-18 at the plate with two outs and scored eight runs with two outs as well.
NOTABLES
• Max Schrock’s first inning single extended his hitting streak to a career-high eight games. He finished 2-for-4 and is 17-for-35 (.486) in the last eight games.
• Kyle Martin’s first-inning homer was his team-leading seventh homer of the year. Martin’s cycle was the seventh time in school history that a Gamecock has hit for the cycle. Martin is the second player to do it against a SEC team. The previous cycle by a Gamecock vs. a SEC team was Derick Urquhart vs. Vanderbilt on April 24, 1998.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Chad Holbrook
“(The second inning) we had Tobias struck out, it would be two outs nobody on if we could block the ball in the dirt and throw him out. Maybe that inning is different. After that, I think Jack would be the first to tell you, you are going to make some physical mistakes in the game and you have to pitch around them. You have to get a little bit better when adversity strikes. They are a very good offensive team and you can’t give them anything.”
“We battled and competed offensively to try to push some runs across. Their pitching is so good, they throw strikes and we couldn’t do enough.”
“(Kyle Martin) had a special day and he is having a special year. I feel terrible that we are not doing enough around him both offensively, defensively and on the mound to support him some more. He was terrific tonight and has been terrific pretty much all year long.”
UP NEXT
The series concludes on Sunday at Noon. The game will be televised live on the SEC Network and can be heard on the Gamecock IMG Network including flagship station, 107.5 FM, “The Game.”
