Baseball Evens Series With 4-2 Win At Florida
April 21, 2017
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Junior right-hander Wil Crowe allowed just one run in seven-plus innings of work and freshman outfielder Carlos Cortes hit his fifth homer of the year as 18th ranked South Carolina defeated 9th ranked Florida 4-2 on Friday night at McKethan Stadium to even the series. The Gamecocks are 24-14 and 9-8 in the SEC with Florida 26-13 and 9-8 in league play.
Crowe was solid all night as he limited the Gators to just six singles with no walks and three strikeouts. He is now 4-3 on the year. Junior right-hander Tyler Johnson pitched two innings of relief with just one run allowed and two strikeouts to earn his sixth save of the year. Florida right-hander Brady Singer suffered the loss and is now 4-3 for the season. He allowed three runs on six hits in 5.1 innings with two walks and five strikeouts.
Cortes gave the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a towering homer to right field. The Gators would get a run back in the bottom of the second to cut the Gamecock advantage to one run.
The Gamecocks extended the lead to 3-1 in the sixth inning as Jacob Olson drove in Chris Cullen with a one-out RBI double to left field. Another run in the seventh inning would make it 4-1 Gamecocks as Cullen drove in LT Tolbert on a RBI groundout.
The Gators would threaten in the eighth and ninth innings. Florida loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the eighth but Johnson fought back with a popup, strikeout and flyout to keep Carolina ahead by three runs. Florida would score once in the ninth as a walk and a single and a balk led to a run and cut Carolina’s lead to 4-2. With a runner on second base and no outs, Johnson retired the next three batters on a popup, strikeout and groundout to preserve the Carolina victory.
GAME CHANGER
The runs in the sixth and seventh inning broke open a one-run game and helped lead the Gamecocks to the win.
KEY STAT
South Carolina out-hit Florida 9-8 with Cortes homering and Olson doubling while the Gators had just one extra base hit in the contest.
NOTABLES
Cortes finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs to lead the Gamecocks at the plate. Olson was also 2-fof-4 with a RBI.
All five of Cortes’ homers this year are against SEC teams.
12 of South Carolina’s 17 SEC games have been decided by three runs or less.
QUOTABLE FROM HEAD COACH Chad Holbrook
“It was obviously a big win for our team, for more ways than one. I told them after the game some wins should count more than one and I felt like this one was a little more than just one win for a number of reasons. It was good to see some guys battle against a great pitching staff and get some nice hits. We did some nice things. We got a few big hits. We scored enough. If we can score four or five with our pitching staff we have a great chance to win and that kind of held up tonight.”
“Wil was awesome. It was important for him too. He got hurt here a couple of years ago and that was a very difficult weekend for our team and our program and for Wil. It was good to see him pitch one of his best games at the site where he got injured. It was a meaningful game and it will mean something for him for a long time.”
QUOTABLE FROM Wil Crowe
“I felt great. I think I had the best fastball command I’ve had all year. I was able to go after guys and use both sides of the plate.”
UP NEXT
The rubber game of the series is set for Noon on Saturday. It will be televised live on ESPN2 and can be heard on the Gamecock IMG Network including flagship station, 107.5 FM, “The Game.”
