FOUNDERS PARK: South Carolina turned in a performance Sunday worthy of the second worst team in the SEC this season. Playing two games against Florida in front of a small, dispirited crowd at Ray Tanner Field, the Gamecocks were bludgeoned by scores of 22-3 and 8-0.
The first game on Sunday was the completion of the weather interrupted game from Saturday. The game resumed in the bottom of the third with the Gamecocks trailing 1-0. It was still a reasonable contest after seven with Florida leading 6-3. Then ridiculous happened.
The Gators scored five runs in the top of the eighth, four of them unearned thanks to a two-out error on a ground ball to second baseman Jordan Carrion. A bases loaded triple by Ty Evans that cleared the bases was the big blow.
As bad as the eighth was for the Gamecocks, the ninth was catastrophic. The Gators sent 14 batters to the plate and 11 scored. There were only three hits in the inning, but one was a grand slam. Five runs scored on bases loaded walks as three USC pitchers yielded eight walks. Gamecock pitching gave up 13 walks for the game.
The 22 runs scored in game one tied the record for most by an opponent at Founders Park. Vanderbilt scored 22 in a 2019 game. The 19 run margin of defeat was the most for the Gamecocks since a 30-7 loss to Arkansas in 1997.
The Gamecocks did have nine hits and drew six walks, but they left 13 on base. They were 1-12 with runners in scoring position.
Game two was a predetermined seven inning game with the Gators going for the sweep of the series. They built a 3-0 lead after three innings then put it on ice with three runs in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Florida totaled 12 hits, including three home runs. They had eight for the series with Luke Heyman going deep three times. The Gamecocks were limited to four hits, three of them doubles, and they never got a runner as far as third base. They were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left six on base. For the series USC left 32 runners on base.
Jake McCoy (4-4) took the loss for USC in game one and Ashton Crowther (2-1) in game two. USC used 13 pitchers in the series and Crowther, who pitched four innings in game three, was the only one not to walk a batter. Gamecock pitchers walked 21 batters in the series.
With the sweep of the series, the Gators moved ahead of the Gamecocks in the all-time series 57-56. USC is now 26-23 and 5-19 in the SEC. They have two league series remaining with a trip to Auburn this coming week. The Gamecocks have now been swept in four of their eight SEC series this season.