Florida pitcher Christian Scott could only watch as Chris Cullen sent the fourth home run of the game into the bleachers in left field in the fourth inning.
The Gamecocks lead the SEC in home runs by a wide margin, and they reminded the Gators and their fans of that fact on Friday night in Gainesville.
South Carolina bested Florida at the plate and on the mound in its 6-3 win to even up the series.
“We could point to a lot of different things that happened tonight but certainly offensively it was disappointing through the first six innings,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I would think we would be able to do a bit more there, score some runs and put some pressure on ‘em.”
Jacob Olson scored the first run of the game for South Carolina (21-14, 4-10 SEC), which was the only Gamecocks run scored that didn’t result from a home run.
He led off the second inning with a double to left field off third baseman Cory Acton’s glove. Scott struck out the next two batters, but Cullen got the best of him on an RBI single up the middle with two outs.
George Callil began the home run barrage with a solo shot to left field in the third inning. TJ Hopkins followed with a single, and Luke Berryhill sent him in with a two-run home run to left-center field. Berryhill’s homer was the fourth straight hit Scott surrendered to the Gamecocks.
“This is the SEC, people can hit,” Scott said. “So if you miss your spot like I did tonight, that’s what’s gonna happen.”
The onslaught continued in the fourth inning with back-to-back homers from Quinntin Perez and Cullen to put South Carolina up 6-0. Up to that point, the Gators had managed only one hit to South Carolina’s eight.
UF (23-14, 5-9) strung three hits together in the seventh inning but only scored one run. Freshman Kendrick Calilao led off with a single, and two batters later, Jacob Young singled as well. A Blake Reese walk loaded the bases for Jordan Butler, who pinch hit for Brady Smith. Butler delivered with a two-out, infield RBI single to score Calilao and break up the shutout.
In the next at-bat, Brady McConnell stranded three runners with a fly out to end the inning.
McConnell has been the Gators’ best hitter this season and was riding a five-game hitting streak heading into the game. That streak ended on Friday, as McConnell went 0 for 4.
UF plated two more runs in the eighth inning on back-to-back, two-out hits by Jud Fabian, who singled, and Kris Armstrong, who doubled. Armstrong was pinch hitting for Young.
Down to their final out in the ninth, the Gators made South Carolina sweat. Austin Langworthy and Kirby McMullen singled to set up runners on second and third for Calilao, the potential tying run. But Brett Kerry struck him out to end the game.
South Carolina’s Cam Tringali muted Florida’s offense for six innings. The redshirt freshman went six innings, struck out three batters and allowed one run on four hits.
Aside from the home runs, Scott pitched well for Florida. After Cullen’s home run, he retired 10 consecutive batters before allowing a single to Campbell. He was promptly replaced by McMullen.
Scott threw a career-high 6.1 innings, allowed six runs on nine hits and struck out five (tying a career high) with only one walk. The home runs were ultimately the deciding factor in the game, however.
Nine different batters had a hit for the Gators, and they outhit South Carolina 11-10, but their multiple comeback attempts fell short as the six-run deficit proved to be too much to overcome.
“We’ve obviously been pretty inconsistent this year, let’s be honest, but I’m not gonna talk to the team tomorrow and say this is a must win,” O’Sullivan said. “The bottom line is we just need to play better.”
Follow Kyle Wood on Twitter @Kkylewood and contact him at kwood@alligator.org.
Jud Fabian was 2 for 4 at the plate with an RBI in Florida's 6-3 loss to South Carolina in Game 2 of the series.
