UF played with its back against the wall on Thursday.
After dropping its opening contest of the Southeastern Conference Tournament to Kentucky on Wednesday, top-seeded Florida was in a win-or-go-home situation when it played No. 4 seed South Carolina in Hoover, Ala.
Despite the pressure, the Gators (38-20) used a 12-hit outing to take a 7-2 victory over the Gamecocks (48-16) to earn its first SEC Tournament victory since May 25, 2012.
Junior left-hander Bobby Poyner — pitching in relief for starter A.J. Puk (4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5K) — earned the win on Thursday after throwing five scoreless innings to round out the contest. The Wellington, Fla., allowed just two hits and struck out South Carolina right fielder Gene Cone to end the game.
Poyner, who had his longest outing of the season on the mound since pitching 5.1 innings in Florida’s season opener against Maryland on Feb. 14, now holds a 5-3 record with a 3.44 ERA on the year.
The Gamecocks scored the first two runs in the contest on a Tanner English RBI double in the second inning and a Kyle Martin home run to center field.
They would not score another run in the game.
After trailing 2-0 for the second straight tournament contest, cleanup hitter Taylor Gushue tied the contest with a two-out, 2-RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the third. Braden Mattson gave Florida the lead on the next at-bat with a squeeze bunt down the third-base line that scored Harrison Bader.
The Gators added two more runs in the fourth on back-to-back RBI singles by Casey Turgeon and Richie Martin to extend Florida’s lead to 5-2. Turgeon finished the game with a team-best three hits and is now second on the team with 31 RBIs.
Third baseman Josh Tobias then gave UF more insurance in the bottom of the sixth, hitting his third home run of the season — a leadoff, first-pitch home run to left field — to bring the Gators to a 6-2 advantage. Turgeon capped the scoring with a 2-out RBI single to center field in the eighth inning.
Florida will play the loser of matchup between No. 9 seed Kentucky and fifth-seeded Mississippi in the second game on Friday. The winner of that matchup advances to the tournament semifinals on Saturday.
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Casey Turgeon swings during Florida’s 4-0 win against Maryland on Feb. 14 at McKethan Stadium.
