South Carolina Grinds Way to Repeat Title

South Carolina made it look easy Tuesday night as they beat the Gators for the second time in two days to clinch the 2011 College Baseball National Title.  The reason the game may have looked so easy for the Gamecocks is due to the fact that their two previous games required walk-off game winners along with jaw dropping defensive plays to get out of jam after jam with the game on the line.  South Carolina has become known for their reputation of living on the edge.  After grinding out close games, winning by three runs must have been a walk in the park.

In Game 1, South Carolina continued to rely on the late game heroics that had been their constant theme throughout the tourney.  The drama heated up in the bottom of the ninth inning Monday night as the Gators managed to load the bases with no outs.  A deep pop-fly or a ground ball anywhere other than right at an infielder (all of whom were playing in to prevent giving up the game-winning run) would have won the game.  This situation was not unfamiliar to the Gamecocks, as we outlined in our June 27th article "Dores Done, Cavs Crumble equals an All-SEC Final," the Cocks allowed Virginia to load the bases in extra innings three different times, but managed to sneak by without giving up a single run.  But all of those situations occurred with one or more outs meaning a double play (if there was only one out) would simply end the inning.  This was not the case Monday night when South Carolina loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth and Tyler Thompson at the plate. Thompson hit a sharp grounder up the middle where second baseman Scott Wingo made a diving play and managed to throw the ball in direction of home plate. Where catcher Robert Beary did his best first baseman impression as he picked the poor throw from the dirt to get the first out.  Daniel Pigott then smashed a one-hopper to Wingo who started the 4-2-3 double-play to end the inning and send the game to extras.

But the Gamecocks wouldn't let the fun stop there. In extra's Florida's SEC Player of the Year stepped up to the plate with the winning run on second and delivered a base hit into left field.  South Carolina outfielder Jake Williams fielded the one-hopper and threw home for a play at the plate where Beary tagged the runner to again keep Carolina's hopes alive.  The game moved into the top of the eleventh still tied at one.  South Carolina first baseman Christian Walker singled and then stole second.  Florida catcher Mike Zunino threw down to second only to see his ball fly over second base and into center field as Walker took off toward third.  Then center fielder Bryson Smith overthrew third base allowing Walker to easily score the eventual game-winning run.

Game 2 didn't display nearly the same drama as game 1, but ended with the same result, a South Carolina win.  Micheal Roth kept the Gator bats at bay as he pitched into the eighth inning, only allowing two runs.  Carolina scored three runs in the third on two hits and an error by shortstop Nolan Fontana which would have ended the inning with only one run scored.  Up three runs Carolina never looked back tacking on insurance runs in the sixth and eighth to seal the deal on their second College World Series title in as many years.

South Carolina has been unbelievable in the NCAA tournament. Over the last two years, the Gamecocks have won sixteen straight tournament  games en route to two national titles.  This streak rivals any postseason winning streak including the UCLA basketball postseason winning streak (67-73) in which UCLA won 38 straight tournament games. Why is South Carolina's streak that has not even amassed half the wins of UCLA's just as impressive?

The simple fact is that baseball win streaks are more difficult to come by because baseball relies so heavily on pitching.  Unlike basketball where the starting lineup remains constant (barring an injuries which are apart of both sports and therefore are considered negligible in this argument), baseball teams must follow a pitching rotation meaning that the team may not always be putting out their top flight pitchers even during the tournament.  Whereas star basketball players can play every night and produce big numbers for their team, baseball teams do not have such a luxury and must rely on multiple pitchers to produce.  With one weak link, one off night from the number three or four man in the rotation, and the streak would have been snapped.  However, South Carolina has shown time and time again (16 times in fact) that their weak link is extremely difficult to find, so difficult that I am left questioning whether they have one.  Because of their top to bottom strength and incredible depth, South Carolina was able top off their impressive streak with their second title.

Double Coverage Sports would like to Congratulate the 2011 South Carolina Baseball team on their second consecutive National Championship.

Go Cocks,
Marcus

Dores Done, Cavs Crumble equals an All-SEC CWS Final

Gamecocks celebrate after walk-off in the 13th against Virgina (AP photo)

Two months after final exams the Florida Gators and South Carolina Gamecocks are set to square off in the College World Series Finals.  Florida clinched their finals birth after defeating Sonny Gray and the number six national seed Vanderbilt Commodores on Friday. Vanderbilt, who was making their first ever trip to Omaha, could not buy a break against the Gators, who have beaten them five of the six times the teams have met this season. After being down 4-1 in the Dores made up two runs in the seventh and tied the game in the top of the eighth.  Unfortunately for Vanderbilt, Sonny Gray, Vanderbilt's ace and 18th overall pick in the 2011 MLB draft, stayed in the game for an inning too long as Vanderbilt surrendered two runs in the bottom of the eighth that proved to be the dagger in Vanderbilt's title hopes.

With the Gators already in the CWS Finals, the late game was an elimination game for the Virginia Cavaliers who gave South Carolina all they could handle.  With 9 innings not being enough, Virgina took the Gamecocks to the bottom of the 13th inning where two consecutive errant fielding throws by Cavaliers closer Cody Winiarski allowed South Carolina pinch runner Adam Matthews to score the winning run.  The Gamecock's received an interesting pitching performance from closer Matt Price, who threw 95 pitches in 5 2/3 innings and thrice loaded the bases (in the 10th, 11th, and 13th) but managed to come away unscathed.  Price's performance wasn't picture perfect by any means, but it was enough to propel the Gamecocks to the College World Series Final where they will attempt to defend their 2010 title. 

The All-SEC Final is an interesting one.  Both teams come into the game without a loss in the tournament, but it seems as though Florida has put teams away convincingly whereas the Gamecocks seem to slide by.  Florida beat Texas 8-4 before going on to beat Vandy 3-1 and 6-4.  However, the Gator wins haven't been as convincing as they would appear. Texas proved to be the worst team in the tournament boasting a meager .184 batting average.  Despite the poor average, the Longhorns managed to score four runs on the Gators.  In the first Vandy game, the Gator defense stepped up, but the offense proved suspect.  The only runs the Gators pushed across were scored on a hanging curve ball that Florida's Preston Tucker (who thus far has been the CWS's most valuable player) promptly deposited over the right field wall.  In their final game against the Dores, the Gator bullpen imploded in the seventh and eighth giving up three runs that tied the ballgame.  Although three runs does not seem like an implosion, I assure you that Vandy should have pushed across at least two more were it not for the "look what I found" balls hit (hard) right at Gator infielders.  The inconsistencies the Gators have shown for three games may come back to haunt them in the series against the Gamecocks

South Carolina on the other hand have problems of their own as the Gamecocks have played multiple games in Omaha to close for comfort.  The Gamecocks, who have currently won fourteen straight College World Series Games, have had to rely on walkoffs in two of their three game.  This type of play can be viewed in one of two ways.  Those that doubt South Carolina see such close games as a sign of weakness believing that if  Carolina were a true championship team they would easily run away with games against lesser opponents.  However, this is not the case.  A team that can play in close games and manage to pull out wins consistently is team that should strike fear into opponents. This Carolina team has shown time and time again that they will not lose their composure in late game situations.  They also seem to have an uncanny knack for getting out of jams (bases loaded in the 10th, 11th and 13th against Virginia) in late game situations.  Despite what many of the experts are saying, I just don't think the Gators have what it takes to beat them.  The series will go three games but in the end the championship trophy will return to Columbia for the second straight year due to the Gamecocks poise and unparallelled ability to pull a W out of thin air.


Marcus