2010 College World Series: TCU Beats UCLA 6-2; South Carolina Defeats Clemson 5-1 in Game Two

Michael Roth was used all season by South Carolina as a left-handed short relief specialist, picking up just 26 innings of work in 35 appearances. With a depleted pitching staff, coach Ray Tanner looked to Roth as an emergency starter Friday night, hoping to get two or three good innings out of him. Instead, Roth had the game of his life, giving up just one run on three hits, throwing a complete game and sparing the South Carolina bullpen in a 5-1 victory over Clemson.

The two teams will rematch tomorrow evening. Stay tuned here at SB Nation for coverage of both the TCU/UCLA game and the South Carolina/Clemson matchup.

South Carolina leads Clemson 5-1 entering the bottom of the ninth. Roth takes the mound...can he keep them off-stride with his sinker for three more outs?

There’s one...a popup to the catcher.

There’s two...a strikeout of the dangerous Kyle Parker

Brad Miller singles....

Roth has given up just two hits through eight innings. Critical decision now for South Carolina: do they stick with the guy having the best game of his life, or do they bring in a fresh arm to close the game in the ninth?

Michael Roth is having the game of his life, allowing just one run in seven innings, the longest outing of his career. We head into the top of the eighth with South Carolina on top 5-1.

Tomas Cruz in to pitch for Clemson in the top of the seventh, score still 5-1 Carolina leading. Cruz has an 85-88 MPH fastball and a good changeup, with a 5.79 ERA on the year. Will Carolina remove Michael Roth in the bottom of the seventh?

An RBI single by Kyle Enders scored Brady Thomas in the top of the sixth, giving South Carolina a 5-1 lead over Clemson. Bullpen management will be the main focus for the remainder of the game. Roth has pitched five innings for Carolina, the longest outing of his career thus far. Will he tire?

South Carolina’s Michael Roth has thrown five strong innings, leading the Gamecocks to a 4-1 lead entering the top of the sixth. Will Roth come out to pitch the bottom of the inning?

Kyle Enders hit a long home run in the top of the fourth inning off David Haselden, putting the Gamecocks up 4-1.

Clemson got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning, Richie Shaffer scoring on a passed ball. South Carolina pitcher Michael Roth looked like he was starting to labor a bit; it will be interesting to see how tight a leash Coach Ray Tanner has on him.

Jackie Bradley Jr. knocked in Evan Marzilli with an RBI double, knocking Dominic Leone out of the game and bringing in reliever David Haselden. The sophomore right-hander has an average fastball and breaking ball, and had a 4.54 ERA on the season. He finished the inning successfully, moving the game to the bottom of the third.

Michael Roth’s left-handed sidearm delivery seems to work well against the lefty-dominated Clemson lineup. He got through the second inning unscathed despite a walk to Kyle Parker. South Carolina still leads 2-0.

Entering the bottom of the second, South Carolina has a 2-0 lead, an RBI single by Adrian Morales scoring Brady Thomas from second base after Thomas had doubled to lead off the inning.

South Carolina is also going with an unusual starter, sophomore Michael Roth, who is normally a reliever. The pitching staff is depleted and it will be interesting to see how they handle this. Roth pitched in 35 games this year but picked up just 26 innings. He can’t go more than two or three innings, but got through the first inning very quickly on three ground balls.

Clemson’s starter tonight is freshman right-hander Dominic Leone, who spent much of the year in the bullpen, posting a 4.53 ERA and a 40/21 K/BB ratio in 56 innings. He relies mainly on a breaking ball and a 90 MPH fastball. Carolina scored one run in the first inning, with a double by Evan Marzilli, who subsequently scored on a ground ball by Jackie Bradley Jr.

There are two games on the docket for Friday at the College World Series.

Game 1 begins at 4:30 p.m. EDT, featuring UCLA (50-14) against TCU (53-13). Game 2 is scheduled to start at 9:00 P.M. EDT, matching South Carolina (50-16) against home-state rival Clemson (45-23). The Gamecocks eliminated Oklahoma in Thursday’s only game.