Burgess' Heroics Lifts Baseball Past Florida in 14 Innings
Colin Burgess' RBI double broke an 8-all tie and gave Carolina a 9-8 win over the Gators.
COLUMBIA – In a classic SEC tilt that lasted 5:31, Colin Burgess’ RBI double gave the University of South Carolina baseball team a 9-8, 14-inning win over No. 5 Florida Friday night (March 26) at Founders Park.
Florida had taken an 8-7 lead in the 14th on a solo home run by Nathan Hickey. Carolina responded with a solo home run from Andrew Eyster with two strikes and two outs. Jeff Heinrich followed with a single up the middle, leading to Burgess’ heroics.
Florida opened with two runs in the first, but Carolina answered with a four-spot in the second, highlighted by a Braylen Wimmer two-run single. Florida took a 7-4 lead in the middle of the seventh, but Carolina scored a pair in the seventh and one in the eighth as Sightler, Eyster and Wimmer each had RBI’s. The game would remain tied at seven until the 14th.
Julian Bosnic earned the win for the Gamecocks, striking out five in two innings of relief. Thomas Farr earned the start for Carolina. He allowed four hits and four runs in 4.1 innings, striking out six and walking six. Andrew Peters also struck out five in four innings of relief.
Wimmer, Burgess and Eyster had four hits apiece for the Gamecocks. Wimmer brought in three runs with Sightler and Eyster driving in two runs apiece.
POSTGAME NOTES
- The 14 innings was the longest for Carolina since March 29, 2014 in a 3-2 win over Tennessee.
- Carolina pitchers struck out 19 batters and walked 13 in the game.
- The two teams combined to leave 29 men on base.
- Eyster and Burgess both set career highs in hits in Friday’s game.
- Carolina has now won three games in a row after starting the year with an 11-game winning streak and having a six-game losing streak.
UP NEXT
Carolina and Florida continue the three-game series Saturday afternoon (March 27) at 4 p.m. inside Founders Park. The game will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.
