By Andy Gardiner, USA TODAY
OMAHA � The late-inning magic that has enveloped South Carolina at the College World Series appears as if it will never end.
By Ted Kirk, AP
South Carolina pitcher Matt Price celebrates after closing out the game against Florida in Game 1 of the College World Series in Omaha.
By Ted Kirk, AP
South Carolina pitcher Matt Price celebrates after closing out the game against Florida in Game 1 of the College World Series in Omaha.
The defending national champion Gamecocks conjured up yet another miracle escape to defeat Florida, 2-1 in 11 innings Monday, in the opening game of their best-of-three championship finals. They worked free of a bases-loaded, none out jam in the bottom of the ninth, threw the winning run out of the plate in the 10th, and then won in the 11th with a player not expected to be in the lineup.
First baseman Christian Walker fractured the hamate bone in his left wrist on a swing late in USC's bracket final victory over Virginia on Friday. He initially was not in South Carolina's lineup Monday, but was a late addition.
Walker had two hits, the biggest a one-out single in the 11th. He then scored on an attempted steal of second base after wild throws first from Florida catcher Mike Zunino and then center fielder Bryson Smith.
"I knew it was going to take a lot of pain for me not to play," Walker said. "For the last half of yesterday, didn't think I would be able to. I'm almost speechless about it. I can't thank (the medical personnel who treated him) enough."
South Carolina has now won four extra inning games in Omaha over the last two years and has had four walk-off victories, one in which the Gamecocks were down to their final strike. They faced three bases-loaded situations in extra innings against Virginia in this year's bracket finals. Each time they found a way to win..
"We fought, we battled, we didn't give it away," said USC coach Ray Tanner. "But we escaped a couple of situations where they had the game in hand. We were just very fortunate to win tonight."
Second baseman Scott Wingo, who won South Carolina's CWS opener against Texas A&M with a bases-loaded single in the ninth inning, tied Monday's game with a two-strike single in the eighth. His threw a runner out at the plate in the ninth and then began a home-to-first double play that ended that threat.
In the 10th inning, left fielder Jake Williams threw a strike on the fly to cut down Cody Dent at the plate when he tried to score from second on Zunino's base hit.
"We had our opportunities in the bottom the ninth inning and that was probably the most pivotal part of the game," Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "We needed to do something there and we didn't. It was a frustrating game for us, but South Carolina is defending national champion for a reason."
The fourth seeded Gamecocks (54-14) are one game away from becoming the sixth school to win consecutive championships. Their 15-game NCAA tournament winning streak tied the record set by Texas in 1983-84, and their 10-game CWS winning streak equaled the mark shared by Southern California and LSU.
Senior lefthander Michael Roth (13-3, 0.98 earned run average) is expected to start for South Carolina. He was one of the heroes of last year's title run and has an ERA of 0.63 in two starts in Omaha this year.
No. 2 Florida (53-18) now must try to avoid being swept for the second time in the championship series. The Gators went 0-2 against Texas in the 2005 finals. Freshman Karsten Whitson (8-0, 2.43 ERA) will start on the mound.
Florida faced a similar situation in the super regionals when it lost the middle game to Mississippi State on a walk-off homer in the ninth. It came back to win the decisive third game with a late rally.Brian Johnson, who is expected to pitch in relief Tuesday, said the Gators will draw on that experience.
"It's far from over," he said. "We'll put this behind us."
more football news more cricket news more golf news more baseball news more soccer news
No comments:
Post a Comment