Baseball Falls to Florida in Super Regional Game One
GAINESVILLE – The University of South Carolina baseball team had two Will McGillis home runs and five innings on the mound from James Hicks, but runs in the sixth and eighth innings lifted Florida to a 5-4 win over the University of South Carolina baseball team Friday night (June 9) in game one of the Gainesville Super Regional.
McGillis led off the game with a solo home run to right and Carolina made it 2-0 after a Gavin Casas RBI single. Florida answered in the bottom of the frame with a two-run Josh Rivera home run. McGillis drove in a run in the second, giving Carolina a 3-2 lead. The game would stay that way until the fifth after a Tyler Shelnut home run tied the game at three.
Florida took the lead for good in the sixth on a BT Riopelle home run. Florida added a run in the eighth on a Shelnut RBI single. Carolina cut the lead to one in the ninth on McGillis’ second home run of the night, but Brandon Neely recorded his 13th save of the season to take game one.
McGillis was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI. Braylen Wimmer and Ethan Petry had two hits apiece. Will Sanders took the loss, allowing two earned runs with three strikeouts and a walk in 2.1 innings. Hicks went five complete, allowing six hits and three runs with no walks and two strikeouts.
POSTGAME NOTES
- McGillis hit a leadoff home run for the second time this season. He also did it at Georgia on March 19.
- McGillis is tied for fourth on the team with 14 home runs.
- Carolina is now 140-72 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
- South Carolina has not committed an error in four NCAA Tournament games.
- Florida defeated Carolina for the first time in four tries in the NCAA Tournament.
UP NEXT
Carolina and Florida will play game two of the Gainesville Super Regional Saturday afternoon (June 10) at 3 p.m. at Condron Family Ballpark. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
