South Carolina snags midweek win over North Florida to snap losing streak
George Callil settled into the batters box, flung his hands through a 1-1 pitch from North Florida reliever Ryan Jean and sprinted on toward first.
Shooting the offering through the middle of the infield, Callil’s two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning propelled South Carolina from the precipice of disaster to a 7-6 win over North Florida Wednesday at Founders Park.
“It felt great getting that run,” he said postgame. “We’ve been battling the past few weeks and we understand every game is as important as the next one, so we didn’t want to give up.”
In a season that started hot, teetered toward the middle and has spiraled a touch since Southeastern Conference play began, the Gamecocks narrowly avoided a colossal let-down against the visiting Ospreys — who ranked 127th in the latest RPI — as they continue to chase NCAA regional hosting privileges.
Struggling designated hitter Wes Clarke did his part early, smoking a home run over the left field fence for his 17th long ball of the season. So too did Braylen Wimmer, who clocked the fourth pitch he saw from North Florida starter Dylan Kelley off the middle of the batter’s eye in centerfield.
Catcher Colin Burgess stretched the South Carolina lead to three in the second inning when his single through second base scored a pair of Gamecock runners.
But for what the South Carolina offense did to lift the Gamecocks early, it was an erratic early pitching effort that nearly helped North Florida to just its third win over a ranked opponent since 2013.
Starter Jack Mahoney managed only two outs and allowed two runs on three hits before being pulled with tightness in his forearm.
John Gilreath was largely effective through 2.1 innings of relief before command issues felled the southpaw.
Head coach Mark Kingston next turned to Daniel Lloyd, who allowed two of Gilreath’s inherited runners to score, followed by another run of his own as the Ospreys snatched a 6-5 lead through four.
“Obviously when your starting pitcher comes out in the first inning, it feels like it could be a long night,” Kingston said postgame. “And the guys did a nice job of just finding a way to win that game.”
Prior to Kallil’s heroics, first baseman Joe Satterfield earned the first chance at a rebound in the fifth inning with runners on first and second and two outs.
Running the count full after falling behind 2-0, Satterfield tipped a 3-2 offering from North Florida reliever Darrin Kilfoyl, stranding two runners and sending himself striding back to the dugout in defeat.
Pirouetting out of the batter’s box, he glared at the barrel of his bat as a noticeably perturbed onlooker shouted “Come on Joe!” in his direction.
Two innings later, Connor Cino took to the dish in the slot previously occupied by Satterfield with two outs and runners on first and second. Cino promptly struck out on an 0-2 pitch, but Osprey’s catcher Caleb Stafford was tagged for catcher’s interference.
With Cino sent to first on Stafford’s miscue and the Gamecocks gifted an added at-bat, Callil roped his go-ahead single to push South Carolina ahead.
Behind Callil’s fireworks at the plate, relievers Magdiel Cotto and Julian Bosnic combined for three perfect innings to close out Wednesday’s win.
Cotto, who hadn’t pitched in nearly a month entering the day, sat in the mid-90s with his fastball and painted as high as 97 miles per hour on the radar gun perched on the scoreboard in left-centerfield.
“I thought the key for us today without question was (Magdiel) Cotto,” Kingston said emphatically. “His biggest outing of the year. His most important. We don’t win the game if Catto doesn’t do that.”
Following two electric innings from Cotto, Bosnic shut the door in the ninth with a pair of fly outs a strikeout looking to send send South Carolina home with its eighth midweek win in 10 tries.
“I’ve said it a million times — it’s a marathon,” Kingston continued. “Just another mile in the marathon.”
Next USC baseball series
Who: No. 19 South Carolina (26-15) vs No. 4 Mississippi State (32-10)
Where: Founders Park in Columbia
When: 7 pm Friday, 4 pm Saturday and 2 pm Sunday
Watch: Friday-Saturday streaming on SEC Network Plus; Sunday televised on SEC Network
This story was originally published May 5, 2021 at 7:26 PM.
