Roth leads USC one game closer to College World Series
The champs are one win away from returning to Omaha to defend their crown.
South Carolina scored three runs on Oklahoma in the second inning and never looked back as the Gamecocks defeated the Sooners 5-0 in the first game of the Columbia Super Regional in front of an overflow crowd at Carolina Stadium.
USC took an early lead when LB Dantzler laced a double to score Adam Matthews. A passed ball from Sooner sophomore pitcher Jordan John allowed Erik Payne to score from third, and Dantzler scored on a sacrifice fly from Chase Vergason.
The three-run lead was all senior Michael Roth needed. Making his final start at Carolina Stadium, Roth held kept Oklahoma off the board, allowing just six hits in 7.2 innings, before leaving the mound to a thunderous ovation from the Gamecock faithful. Tyler Webb recorded the final four outs on just 13 pitches to preserve the shutout and bring the Gamecocks one victory from a third straight trip to Omaha. It was the second time in four games this postseason that South Carolina has shut out its opponent.
Roth, the former Riverside High School standout, said he felt the magnitude of the evening. "I'd be lying if to you if I said it was just another game," he said afterwards. "There was something special about tonight. I'm glad to be able to leave [Carolina Stadium] on a high note."
Roth's superb night was made possible in part by USC's early runs. The Gamecocks chased John, the Oklahoma starter, after just two innings of work. Oklahoma turned to Dillon Overton to begin the third inning. Overton, who was projected to potentially start on Monday, finished the game for the Sooners, going seven innings.
It was the second straight contest that the Gamecocks scored three runs in an inning. USC scored three runs on Clemson in the first inning of the final game of last weekend's regional.
Center fielder Evan Marzilli, who went 2-3 on the evening, said putting runs on the board in the early was crucial for the club. "It was very important to go out and establish an early lead," Marzilli said, "especially when you have got a veteran guy on the mound."
South Carolina put the game out of reach in the seventh inning. Joey Pankake drove in Vergason with a RBI single and Christian Walker singled home Pankake to extend USC's lead to 5-0, sending the crowd at Carolina Stadium into a frenzy.
Both coaches acknowledged the electric atmosphere in the stadium throughout the game.
"What an environment," Sooners head coach Sunny Golloway said after the game. "When the last out was recorded, I made sure to look all the way around and take it all in."
"I appreciate [the atmosphere] on a daily basis," USC coach Ray Tanner said. "It's very special to be at a job where you feel like there isn't a better one."
First pitch for game two is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sunday. A win by the Sooners will force a game three on Monday night, while a USC victory will send the Gamecocks to the College World Series.