South Carolina had an answer for everything Florida threw at it for the first eight innings of the game. After the Gators scored two unanswered runs to tie the game, the Gamecocks plated a run in the two innings later.
After Florida tied the game again, Chris Cullen responded with a two-run homer to left field.
They ran out of answers in the eighth inning.
Josh Reagan put the first two Gators on base in the inning, and Colie Bowers would relieve him. Bowers would walk Nelson Maldonado to load the bases.
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JJ Schwarz would make the Gamecocks pay after that, launching a grand slam to left field, giving the Gators a 7-5 lead that they held on to the remainder of the game, clinching the series.
It’s the Gamecocks (24-15, 9-9 SEC) fourth-straight conference series loss. They are 15-14 in their last 10 SEC series.
On April 12, 2015, the Gamecocks lost their fourth-straight SEC series, getting swept by Florida in Gainesville. On Saturday, almost two years to the day, the Gamecocks lost their fourth-straight series, also at Florida.
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Adam Hill didn’t make it out of the fourth inning, getting pulled with a runner on first and one out. He threw 66 pitches.
Reagan relieved him, pitching a season-high 3.2 innings. It’s the second time he’s pitched that long in a game this year with the first coming March 25 against Alabama.
The Gamecocks would out-hit Florida 13-7 but hit 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
“Obviously a heartbreaking loss. Our kids played their tails off for eight innings and you have one bad little spurt there and it cost us the game,” head coach Chad Holbrook said in a release. “It’s heartbreaking for our kids because they laid it out on the line. We out-hit them 13-7 but they made their hits count. In the game of baseball, that’s part of it. Didn’t throw it well there in that (8th) inning. It’s a tough loss.”
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Pivotal play: The Gamecocks had all of the momentum after a two-run homer in the seventh and put a leadoff man on in the eighth, but couldn’t scratch him across for more insurance. In the bottom of the inning, Florida took the lead on a grand slam.
Top performer: Top of the Gamecocks order. TJ Hopkins, LT Tolbert and Carlos Cortes combined to go 6-for-14 and scored four of the team’s runs. Cortes and Tolbert had a combined three RBIs as well.
Up next: With no midweek game because of final exams, the Gamecocks will host SEC East leader Kentucky in a three-game series starting Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
