#2 Texas 5-South Carolina 3 Game Summary
Founders Park
- Texas hit three home runs, part of a 13 hit attack, and four pitchers limited the Gamecocks to four hits, two of which were homers.
- The Longhorns built a 3-0 lead after two innings Carson Tinney hit a solo homer in the first In the second, Texas put runners on the corners with one out, and USC starter Josh Gunther was relieved by Brandon Stone, who misplaced a sacrifice bunt to allow one run to score. An RBI single followed to give the Longhorns a 3-0 lead.
- Stone settled in after that and kept Texas off the scoreboard until the ninth. The Gamecocks did not have a baserunner for the first four innings against Luke Harrison. They finally got to him in the fifth with a two run homer by Luke Yuhasz which cut the lead to 3-2.
- The Gamecocks had multiple opportunities to tie the game or go ahead over the next three innings. In the sixth, first and second with two outs, but KJ Scobey flied out to center. In the seventh, Will Craddock doubled with two outs but was stranded when Erik Parker struck out. And in the eighth, second and third with two outs, and Scobey struck out swinging on an 94 MPH fastball.
- It was 3-2 Texas in the top of the ninth when Stone ran out of gas. After getting a strikeout to open the frame, he was touched for back to back homers. Cooper Parks came in and retired the side.
- Down 5-2 in the bottom of the ninth, the Gamecocks’ first two batters struck out looking, and then Craddock popped a solo homer to left to make it a 5-3 game. But another strikeout looking ended the game.
- Unlike in their 9-1 win on Thursday night, Gamecock hitters did not come through in the clutch this time. They were 1-7 with runners on, 0-3 with runners in scoring position, and 3-12 with two outs. They also struck out 13 times.
- Luke Harrison (4-0) allowed just one hit in 5.2 innings, the two run homer by Yuhasz in the fifth. He struck out five. Three relievers held the Gamecocks scoreless until Craddock’s homer in the ninth. Sam Cozart pitched the final 1.1 innings and earned his third save.
- Gunther (2-3) took the loss allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits in 1.1 innings. Stone was a rock for seven innings until yielding the back to back jacks in the ninth. Before those, he had scattered seven hits and struck out six.
- The Gamecoks are 15-17 overall and 2-9 in the SEC, and the Longhorns are 25-5 and 8-3. The rubber game of the series will be Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM.
