Gamecocks bounce back in a big way to topple Florida, tie series
A night after being handcuffed on six hits against Florida, South Carolina had five players record multi-hit games as the Gamecocks punished the second-ranked Gators 15-7 Saturday afternoon in front of an energized crowd of 7,207 at Founders Park.
Jonah Bride led the hit parade with three doubles and three RBI but he had plenty of support. Jacob Olson also collected three hits, with Noah Campbell, TJ Hopkins and Matt Williams adding two each. Madison Stokes, Hunter Taylor, Campbell and Olson all hit home runs.
The 15 runs tied the season-high, and the 16 hits are the most of the year. The 15 runs in an SEC game are the most since scoring 19 against Tennessee in 2013.
“Great ball game all the way around for us,” USC coach Mark Kingston said. “Obviously, our offense was really good today. A ton of good at bats up and down the lineup against a really good pitching staff in Florida.”
It helped matters that starting pitcher Cody Morris had his most effective outing of the season. The sophomore right-hander allowed two runs on four hits with 10 strikeouts and one walk in a 92-pitch outing. Morris improved to 4-1 on the season.
“I thought Cody Morris was the best I’ve ever seen him as far as fastball command, fastball velocity and then his breaking ball and change-up for strikes,” Kingston said. “To me, that was the key to the ball game, him setting the tone.”
The Gamecocks (13-6, 1-1) started quick and it carried all the way until the end. Campbell led off the bottom of the first inning with an inside-the-park home run. At first, Campbell was called out at the plate, but after Kingston challenged the ruling, it was overturned, and USC had a 1-0 lead.
Hopkins then singled before Stokes hit his fifth home run of the season on the first pitch he saw for a 3-0 lead.
The Gamecocks pushed the lead to 4-0 in the third inning when Stokes was hit by a pitch, went to second after a walk and moved to third on a fly ball to right field. He scored when Florida starter Jackson Kowar was called for a balk.
The sixth inning was a huge momentum builder. The Gators left the bases loaded when they had a chance to tie the game or take the lead, while the Gamecocks trio of Tolbert, Bride and Williams each delivered key two-out hits.
Morris ended his impressive outing by striking out Jonathan India for the first out of the inning. Freshman John Gilreath came in and got a fly ball to left, but then walked a batter to load the bases. He got out of the jam with a weak grounder to second.
South Carolina didn’t waste its opportunity in the bottom half of the inning. The Gamecocks had the bases loaded with two outs and delivered key hits. Tolbert ripped a single up the middle that glanced off the Florida pitcher's glove to score Campbell.
Bride then worked a full count before hitting a two-run, ground-rule double just to the left of the 380-sign in center field. Williams followed with a single back up the middle to complete the two-out, 5-run outburst.
“Jonah got the big hit, and the crowd was really into it,” Kingston said. “You could see the pitcher, he knew he was in the middle of a big stadium with a bunch of great fans. It was loud, and I thought that energized our offense.”
Florida (17-4, 1-1) got within 9-6, but a six-run eighth inning by the Gamecock ended any drama.
Tolbert added a run with a sacrifice fly, Bride had an RBI double, Hunter Taylor added a 3-run home run before Olson ended the hit parade with a solo home run.
“It was a complete team effort,” Bride said. “So many guys contributed, I couldn’t even name them all right now. The amount of quality at bats we had today was probably as good as we’ve had all year.”
The rubber game is scheduled for Sunday at 1 pm. It’s going to be televised by ESPNU.
Note: Stokes had to leave the game in the sixth inning with a bruised hand. He’s day-to-day, according to Kingston.
This story was originally published March 17, 2018 at 7:42 PM with the headline "Gamecocks bounce back in a big way to topple Florida, tie series."