FOUNDERS PARK: South Carolina was sitting on a 5-3 lead in the rain the top of the ninth inning Sunday afternoon at Ray Tanner Field, but the inability to make plays in the field gave Oklahoma a chance, and the Sooners cashed them in for a 6-5 win in ten innings. The Sooners won the SEC opening series two games to one.
Despite the rain and the clouds, everything was sunny in the USC dugout as the game moved to the ninth. The Gamecocks had a two-run lead and their closer, Brendan Sweeney, on the mound.
Sweeney got the first hitter to pop up then walked the next on a 3-2 pitch. Next up, a hard hit ball that shortstop Henry Kaczmar couldn’t handle that went for a single into left field and put runners on first and second. A fielder’s choice produced the second out at second and put runners on the corners.
That was followed by a sharp ground ball that second baseman Jordan Carrion misplayed for an error allowing he runner from third to score and make it a 5-4 game. The Sooners then tied the game on a grounder up the middle that Carrion was able to knock down, but his throw to first was late.
After the Gamecocks were retired in order in the ninth, the Sooners took the lead in the top of the tenth off of Sweeney (0-1) on a one-out home run to left center by Jason Walk.
USC did threaten in the bottom of the tenth. With one out, Kaczmar singled into right field and Nathan Hall reached on an error by the third baseman. But Evan Stone and Ethan Petry both popped up to second for the final outs of the game.
Dylan Eskew started for USC and went 4.1 innings allowing one run on one hit. He struck out three and walked four. He left with the game tied 1-1. The Gamecocks scored two in the bottom of the fifth for a 3-1 lead. Oklahoma tied the game with two runs in the seventh, but the Gamecocks went back on top in the seventh 4-3 with Petry scoring from third on a wild pitch.
The Gamecocks had 11 hits, ten singles and a triple. They also drew four walks and were hit four times. They left 13 on base and were 2-11 with runners in scoring position. The Gamecocks totaled 37 hits in the three-game series.
South Carolina is 16-5 and 1-2 in the SEC and will face the College of Charleston Tuesday night at Segra Park in Columbia. The Sooners are 17-2 and 2-1 in the SEC.