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South Carolina drops opening game of Super Regional

South Carolina drops opening game of Super Regional

As James Hicks worked his way into trouble in the fifth, a tall, lanky right-hander stood up in the visitor’s bullpen.

Hicks, who had a runner on third and one out, found a way to get out of it and keep the game tied. But the right-hander in the bullpen was still up.

After South Carolina went down swinging in the sixth, the tall right-hander began trotting out to the mound. It was Will Sanders.

At first, it seemed like the right move. He had been dealing as of late and looked to be the best guy to keep the game where it was.

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Sanders fooled the first two batters he faced and struck them out. He was locked in.

Then came the big blow.

On an 0-1 pitch, Sanders left one over the heart of the plate. And he paid the price for it. Florida catcher BT Riopelle hit a long fly ball to dead center that kept carrying. As Will Tippett kept running back, he eventually ran out of room. It was a solo home run that gave the Gators their first lead of the night.

And it would ultimately be a game-changing play. After a two-hour weather delay, Florida defeated the Gamecocks 5-4 in the first game of Super Regional play.

Things looked promising for South Carolina (42-20) to start the night as the offense came out firing. On the second pitch of the game, Will McGillis launched a solo homer into left.

Gavin Casas later followed in the first with a first-pitch RBI single into right. Very quickly, the Gamecocks were up 2-0.

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But Florida answered right back. Josh Rivera hit a 453-foot two-run shot into the night to tie the game up.

South Carolina continued to keep hitting off Florida right-hander Brandon Sproat. By the time the second inning ended, the Gamecocks were already up to seven hits. It culminated in retaking the lead on an RBI single by McGillis.

The Gamecocks had a chance to do more damage in the second with the bases loaded but couldn’t do so. Cole Messina grounded back to the mound, starting a 1-2-3 double play to end the threat.

This inevitably came back to haunt South Carolina. In the bottom of the fifth, Tyler Shelnut homered on the first pitch of the inning to tie the game.

The game then went into a brief stalemate. Hicks did what he could, only making one more mistake in his outing. In five innings of work, he allowed three runs on six hits and struck out two and walked none.

After Florida hit the go-ahead home run, it added an insurance run in the eighth, an RBI single from Shelnut.

South Carolina, meanwhile, went cold at the plate. It went into the ninth with only three hits after the second inning.

McGillis changed that, though, as he hit his second homer of the night, a solo shot into left. That would be all for the Gamecocks as Wimmer grounded out to third to end the game.

Up next: It’s do or die time. South Carolina will look to avoid elimination in game two Saturday afternoon. First pitch is at 3 p.m.

Discuss South Carolina baseball on The Insiders Forum!

The post South Carolina drops opening game of Super Regional appeared first on On3.

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