Gamecocks defeat Florida, fall to Arkansas
The Gamecocks posted a 7-3 win over the top-seeded Florida Gators in their CWS opener, as South Carolina extended their NCAA tournament win streak to 22 games. USC rallied from a 2-0 deficit with a five-run fifth inning to take a lead that they would not relinquish. After Florida cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Gamecocks put the game out of reach in the top of the ninth, scoring two more runs to push their lead to 7-3. Michael Roth picked up the win to improve to 8-1 on the season, going 6.1 innings and allowing just three earned runs. Roth is undefeated in his career at the CWS. Matt Price earned his 12th save of the season and the 42nd of his career, setting the all-time SEC career saves record.
With the win against Florida, the Gamecocks set themselves up for another SEC showdown, this time against SEC Western Division rival Arkansas. The Razorbacks' pitching staff limited South Carolina to just four hits and Arkansas came away with a 2-1 victory in the winner's bracket. Once again, South Carolina fell behind early as the Razorbacks jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning and pushed across another run in the fourth inning to make it 2-0.
The Gamecocks got on the scoreboard courtesy of Evan Marzilli's triple in the fifth inning, but Arkansas held on as the Gamecocks were unable to capitalize on several subsequent opportunities. USC stranded seven runners on the evening and were just 1-10 hitting with runners in scoring position. All three runs scored in the game occurred with two outs.
Colby Holmes took the loss for South Carolina, as the junior lasted just 3.2 innings and was tagged for four hits and two earned runs. Tyler Webb pitched the final 5.1 frames, allowing just two hits and striking out three.
The loss snapped South Carolina's 22-game postseason win streak, the longest in NCAA baseball history. The loss was also USC's first defeat in Omaha since a 2010 loss to Oklahoma. The Gamecocks had won twelve consecutive contests at the College World Series.
South Carolina will face the Kent State Golden Flashes in an elimination game Wednesday night at 8 p.m. on ESPN. The winner will advance to play Arkansas, who is now one win away from reaching the national championship series. USC will need to win three consecutive games to reach the championship series.