Ninth-inning heartbreak as Florida rallies to edge Gamecocks 5-4

South Carolina closer Josh Reagan has been nearly unhittable this season, but Florida solved him in the ninth inning Friday night.

Jonathan India and Nick Horvath hit solo home runs in the final inning as top-ranked Florida rallied to stun No. 6 South Carolina 5-4 at Founders Park.

The blown save was the first of the year for Reagan, who entered the game with a 0.81 ERA and 11 saves, which leads the SEC.

“It’s a very difficult loss… We didn’t locate a couple of pitches and didn’t make a defensive play, and great teams make you pay when you don’t execute,” USC coach Chad Holbrook said. “They’re the No. 1 team in the country for a reason, obviously.”

The Gamecocks took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an Alex Destino home run and led throughout before the Gators rallied late.

Carolina led 3-0 after catcher Chris Cullen’s solo homer in the fifth inning, but Florida got on the board with two unearned runs in the sixth after an error by LT Tolbert and a homer by JJ Schwarz.

USC extended its lead to 4-2 in the sixth inning as Cullen hit an RBI double to left.

The Gators cut the lead to 4-3 on a Jeremy Vasquez bloop single in the seventh before the late drama.

South Carolina ace Clarke Schmidt got the start and pitched 6 1/3 innings while allowing three runs, only one earned, before giving way to reliever Tyler Johnson.

Johnson retired all five batters he faced but was pulled in favor of Reagan to open the ninth.

“I just do what Coach (Jerry) Meyers tells me to do. I just do my job, and it’s been very effective all year, to be able to come in for Josh and have Josh, who can spot his pitches and get hitters out,” Johnson said. “It’s baseball, but when Josh goes back out there we will all have 100 percent confidence.”

Holbrook said he considered leaving Johnson in the game but ultimately opted for his closer, who has been lights out all year.

“I thought about it… Reagan’s been our guy,” he said. "I haven't lost an ounce of trust in Josh Reagan... Josh Reagan will bounce back because I know he's the right type of kid."

USC had a chance to build a bigger lead earlier in the game but missed out on several opportunities.

South Carolina had a runner in scoring position with one out in the second, the bases loaded with one out in the fifth, two on with one out in the sixth and a runner at third with one out in the seventh but did not score in any of the instances.

“We made a couple of mistakes there from a pitching standpoint and they capitalized on them,” Holbrook said. “They made a few mistakes and we couldn’t quite get the big hit. That was the difference in the game.”

Cullen led the way for the Gamecocks, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and his first career homer.

Designated hitter John Jones went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.

“I have the utmost confidence in the kid, but he’s struggling right now,” Holbrook said. “No one feels worse about it than he does. He’s one of our better hitters that’s going through a difficult time. I think he’s just trying too hard and swinging too hard.”

THREE POINTS

Star of the game: Chris Cullen: The freshman had the best offensive game of his career with three extra-base hits against a tough Florida pitching staff.

Plays of the game: Schmidt was cruising along before Tolbert was unable to field a grounder off the bat of Deacon Liput with two outs in the sixth inning. Schwarz followed with a two-run homer to get the Gators on the board.

Stat of the game: 2-for-10: South Carolina had runners in scoring position 10 times but managed only two hits. On one of the two hits the runner was held at third and USC did not score in the inning.

OBSERVATIONS

You can’t give great teams an extra out: Florida is a great team and made the Gamecocks pay for the error.

Reagan has to locate to be effective: He is not a hard thrower so location is key. He grooved in a few pitches over the heart of the plate that the Gators didn’t miss.

We will learn a lot about USC the next two days: The Gamecocks were upbeat after the game and confident they will bounce back, but being able to do so after letting a game slip away will be tough.

NEXT

What: South Carolina vs. Florida

When: 7 p.m. Saturday, April 30

Where: Founders Park

Probable pitchers: USC – Braden Webb (Fr. RHP) UF – A.J. Puk (Jr. LHP)

Watch: SEC Network Plus

Radio: 107.5 FM in the Columbia area

This story was originally published April 29, 2016 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Ninth-inning heartbreak as Florida rallies to edge Gamecocks 5-4."