Strike One: Gators steal a victory in Columbia
Nelson Maldonado and Johnathan India hit solo home runs in the top of the ninth inning to give (1) Florida the 5-4 victory over (7) South Carolina Friday. Both solo shots in the ninth were hit off Gamecocks closer Josh Reagan, who picked up the loss and his first blown save of the season. South Carolina led the game until the ninth inning, after taking an early lead from Alex Destino’s two-run homer in the first inning. Gamecock right fielder Gene Cone extended his nation-leading hit streak to 28 games.
The victory ties the Gators up with South Carolina at the top of the SEC East standings at 14-5, and Florida was able to hold off South Carolina in the bottom of the ninth, when Dom Thompson-Williams hit a ball all the way to the warning track for the final out of the ball game.
Strike Two: Cougars continue to struggle
College of Charleston, a team once ranked in the top 25, lost their opening game to the Towson Tigers Friday 4-3. Towson shortstop Brady Policelli drove in two runs for the Tigers on a two-run triple that gave the Tigers the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The Cougars have now lost eight of their last nine games and will look to even the series Saturday.
Strike Three: Wolfpack walks off
(6) North Carolina State took a game one victory from Duke in walk-off fashion Friday, when Wolfpack third baseman Evan Mendoza hit a single that drove in first baseman Preston Palmeiro for a 3-2 victory over the Blue Devils. The walk-off hit came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and was Mendoza’s second hit of the game.
Mendoza finished with two hits, one coming in the eighth inning and the other in the ninth. His first hit extended his hit streak to 15 games, and he came around to score the run that tied the game 2-2. The victory puts the Wolfpack in third place of the ACC Atlantic division, where they sit two games behind the first-place Florida State Seminoles.
