It took Matt Price just one day to get revenge.
A day after South Carolina’s All-American closer surrendered the game-winning homer to UF’s Kamm Washington, the Gamecocks’ flame-throwing righty shut the door for the final 2.1 innings in No. 4 South Carolina’s 4-3 win over No. 1 Florida on Sunday afternoon in McKethan Stadium.
“I knew I had to get the job done today,” Price said. “It’s a big series. We’re hungry, and we’re going to just keep going.”
The Gators rolled out to an early 3-0 lead before a trio of relievers for South Carolina (18-5, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) silenced their bats. Highlighted by Price’s late-inning dominance, the bullpen tossed seven scoreless frames as the Gamecocks captured the weekend set over the top-ranked Gators (21-4, 4-2 SEC).
Sunday’s loss handed Florida its first series defeat this season, as well as the first home SEC set the Gators have dropped since an April 2009 weekend against Ole Miss.
“We can play ball just as well as they can,” South Carolina center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. said. “We showed that this weekend.
“We come in here and all the No. 1 talk and playing in their field, but you still have to go out there and play the game,” Bradley Jr. added. “Everything is not going to be handed to you. We battled and fought and everything worked our way today.”
The Gators were shellacked 9-2 on Friday, before Hudson Randall tossed a complete-game gem Saturday night.
South Carolina overcame an early 3-0 deficit in the sixth inning Sunday, tying the game with three runs on two walks, a hit and an error.
Florida’s freshman Karsten Whitson shut the Gamecocks down for five scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing two hits. In his best start since his collegiate debut, the right-hander limited South Carolina to just four baserunners before being pulled in the sixth after walking the leadoff man.
“If our bullpen wasn’t so fresh, we probably leave him in there,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I thought he was throwing the ball great, but I got a lot of confidence in our bullpen. Their job is to come in and throw strikes and get outs, and we just didn’t do that there in the sixth inning.”
In the bottom of the frame, Florida loaded the bases with no outs but failed to score after a controversial double play halted its swelling momentum. Josh Adams hit a chopper to third, where South Carolina’s Adrian Morales threw home for the force out.
But Adams was called out at first after the umpire ruled Brian Johnson interfered with the catcher as he slid home.
O’Sullivan argued vehemently, but to no avail.
“I’ve got no comment,” O’Sullivan said. “I don’t know what you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to slide into the plate, but I’m not supposed to comment on the umpires.”
South Carolina plated the go-ahead run in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk by Morales, but it, too, was an inning marred with controversy.
Earlier in the frame, the umpire ruled that Tommy Toledo hit a batter, despite replays suggesting otherwise.
Nonetheless, Florida’s usually stifling bullpen struggled with its command Sunday, surrendering three runs on three hits and three walks.
“We had our opportunities,” O’Sullivan said. “Credit South Carolina. They played great this weekend and made the pitches and plays they needed to.”
