Florida Gators

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 5 South Carolina (34-9, 15-5 SEC) evened the series with a 2-1 win over No. 1 Florida (37-7, 14-6) on Saturday night at Founders Park. The rubber match between the two teams is set for Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
 
Solid pitching efforts from both teams highlighted the night. Florida starter A.J. Puk struck out 10 through six innings while allowing just one run on the night. South Carolina starter Braden Webb and reliever Tyler Johnson combined to allow one run in nine innings.
 
Florida struck first in the top of the second as junior Buddy Reed lined a home run just over the fence in right field for a 1-0 lead. In the bottom half of the frame, South Carolina took advantage of a leadoff double by Dom Thompson-Williams, who came home to score on a two-out single by LT Tolbert to tie the game.
 
Both pitchers settled in after the second and kept the hitters at bay through the sixth inning. Puk exited after the sixth after allowing just one run on four hits.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, South Carolina's Gene Cone hit a solo home run off UF reliever Kirby Snead to give the Gamecocks a 2-1 lead which proved to be the difference.
 
The Gators threatened in the final two innings but came up short. Nelson Maldonado and Dalton Guthrie had back-to-back, one-out singles in the eighth but were stranded after a pair of strikeouts ended the opportunity.
 
In the ninth, Peter Alonso led off with an infield single and was replaced by Reed after a fielder's choice at second. Reed stole second, then made it to third on a groundout. A strikeout by Ryan Larson ended the game.
 
 
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan
On tonight's game:
"I thought both starting pitchers were outstanding, relief pitching for both teams was really good. It came down to one pitch, we just didn't locate. Those things happen. It's baseball.
 
"The bottom line though, we just didn't put together enough good at bats. It's really that simple. You've got to credit South Carolina's pitchers, they did a nice job. We just got six hits, neither team made an error, wasn't a whole lot of walks on either side – I think each team had three.
 
"We've just got to be a little more consistent offensively. It's really that simple. I know the arms are really good in this league and I knew tonight was not going to be easy, but you give up two runs on the road over eight innings, you've got to figure out a way to score three or four. Just grind it out a little bit more."
 
Postgame Notes

• Florida lost to South Carolina for the first time in eight games.
• A.J. Puk notched 10 strikeouts, giving him three games on the season with double digit strikeouts. He has six career games with 10 strikeouts.
• As a staff, the Gators totaled 14 strikeouts. On the season UF pitchers have totaled 14 strikeouts seven times in a game.
• Buddy Reed hit his fourth home run of the season.
• Deacon Liput had his 14^th multi-hit game of the season after notching a pair of singles on the night.

Up Next
The Gators and Gamecocks will meet Sunday in the series finale at 1:30 p.m., with sophomore right-hander Alex Faedo (8-1, 3.32) squaring off against USC freshman right-hander Adam Hill (6-0, 2.57). Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell have the call on the Gator IMG Sports Network and the game will be shown live on SEC Network .
 
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