Frustrating finish: USC falls to Kentucky 5-4 in extras, drops series

South Carolina closer Tyler Johnson fired his glove into a brick wall outside of the visitor’s dugout at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

He gave up a walk-off home run in the 12th inning to Kentucky outfielder Dorian Hairston minutes earlier that gave the Wildcats a 5-4 win and a series victory. But his frustration — and the blame for Sunday’s loss — didn’t lie with his right hand.

The Gamecocks’ frustration lies within the failure to produce with runners on base. South Carolina was 2-of-16 with runners in scoring position and 5-of-28 with runners on base in total, leaving 15 runners on base.

“Toughness and competitiveness and all those things come out when people are on base, and you have to hit the pitcher’s best pitch,” USC coach Chad Holbrook said. “Today, we couldn’t do it.”

The struggle was most apparent in the 11th inning with the game tied 4-4. South Carolina had runners on the corners with nobody out and the middle of the lineup at the plate.

Clean-up hitter Alex Destino struck out on three pitches. Chris Cullen, in the game at catcher for John Jones, also struck out. Jonah Bride drew a walk, but Madison Stokes waved at strike three for the final out. Kentucky closer Sean Hjelle beat his chest, and South Carolina discarded another run-scoring opportunity.

“It baffles me that we can’t make contact with guys on third,” Holbrook said. “Sometimes you get a chance to make up for the opportunities (from earlier in the game). We had our chance to make up for those opportunities, and we couldn’t do it.”

Kyle Cody threw a career-high 114 pitches, and needed every one of them to hold South Carolina to two runs despite allowing eight hits in five innings.

The Gamecocks’ loss, combined with a 9-3 Florida victory over Tennessee, evened up the top of the SEC standings between South Carolina and the Gators.

South Carolina trailed entering the seventh inning, when Jonah Bride hit a solo home run to right field to tie the game at 3-3. Dom Thompson-Williams singled in a run in the eighth inning, but Josh Reagan gave up his fifth home run in five games, and Zach Reks’ solo shot in the bottom of the eighth knotted the game at 4-4.

“Being in the eighth, we knew there was still time left in the game,” USC second baseman DC Arendas said. “They were going to respond, and we had to do something to give ourselves a little bit more of a lead. The main thing is we had opportunities to win, and we didn’t capitalize on them.”

For a third time in the series, Kentucky pushed out to an early lead. JaVon Shelby hit his league-leading 11th home run in the third inning, a two-run shot that gave the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.

USC freshman starter Adam Hill struggled with command, and his pitch count paid for 10 3-ball counts in five innings. He allowed two hits, but threw more balls than strikes.

“He’s a freshman out there on the road,” Holbrook said. “He kept us in the game. We had a chance to win the game with his start.”

The same can be said of Johnson, and the Gamecocks move into the last two series of conference play with a missed opportunity in the rear-view mirror.

This story was originally published May 8, 2016 at 7:15 PM.