Richie Martin yelled into the Florida dugout from second base, unleashing a fury of emotion that rivaled his team’s offensive outburst in the sixth inning. Martin drove in the third and fourth runs of the sixth on a single. Florida would add six more in its first 10-run inning since plating 11 against Kentucky on April 2, 2005.
Florida (19-18, 8-7 Southeastern Conference) sent 13 batters to the plate during the inning en route to a 14-5 drubbing of No. 8 South Carolina (27-10, 8-7 SEC) Saturday afternoon at McKethan Stadium to complete a series sweep of its conference rival.
“Probably the best offensive day we’ve had all year,” Justin Shafer said.
After South Carolina tied the game at four in the top half of the inning, Vickash Ramjit started the rally with a double. Harrison Bader walked two batters later to load the bases with no outs for pinch hitter Josh Tobias, who gave Florida its first runs since a four-run second.
Every batter scored at least once. Ramjit scored twice following his second double of the game. His leadoff double marked the first extra-base hit for Florida all weekend.
South Carolina used four different pitchers in the inning. The Gamecocks didn’t reach a two-strike count until the seventh batter at the plate.
“We were just seeing pitches up and hitting them,” Tobias said. “Attacking early. We didn’t get to two strikes. Just seeing pitches early in the count and putting good swings on them.”
While the Gators earned their first sweep against the Gamecocks since April 2009, there wasn’t time to celebrate. Florida turned its focus in the dugout to a road matchup on Tuesday night against Florida Gulf Coast.
“We have had a lot of downs,” Ramjit said. “It feels our work is paying off. Everything is starting to turn for the better.”
Shafer acts as bridge: Freshman right-hander Jay Carmichael returned to the mound for his first start since March 29 against Mississippi. He lasted 1.2 innings and never established his fastball to compliment his curveball.
Carmichael walked in a run for his last batter of the game in the second. Florida responded with four runs on five hits in the bottom half of that inning off South Carolina right-hander Colby Holmes, who lasted only 1.2 innings in his start as well.
Luckily for Florida, Shafer allowed one earned run in three innings of relief. He threw 1.2 innings in relief during a 4-3 win against FSU on Tuesday in Tallahassee. He started both games as the designated hitter.
Shafer entered in the third after left-hander Bobby Poyner gave up a two-run homer to left-handed batter Max Schrock.
Although left-hander Daniel Gibson earned the victory, Shafer kept the Gamecocks at bay until he turned it over to Gibson in the sixth.
“He did a nice job at Florida State and he did a nice job today,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It’s nice to have a guy that throws strikes that you know is going to settle things down.”
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Senior Vickash Ramjit hits the ball during Florida’s 14-5 win against South Carolina on Saturday at McKethan Stadium. Ramjit scored three times in the victory, which completed the Gators’ first sweep against the Gamecocks since April 2009.
