After a long rest South Carolina’s Michael Roth headed back to the mound. The rustiness immediately became a factor, as Roth gave up a homerun to Mike Zunino on his fourth pitch of the inning. The blast to left field will surely serve as a big moral boost to the struggling Gators after a rough third inning.
Florida Vs. South Carolina Score, Game 2: Zunino Homer Cuts Florida Deficit, 3-1, After Four Innings
Undeterred by his mistake, Roth went right back to work, retiring Preston Tucker, Josh Adams, and Daniel Pigott via groundouts in just seven combined pitches to end the top of the fourth.
Now it was up to Whitson to recover from his shaky outing. The inning did not start off pleasantly for the freshman, as he immediately nailed Jake Williams to give the Gamecock a free pass to first. Then, as South Carolina has done the entire series, they executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Williams into scoring position.
With a runner on second and one out, Whitson was again facing a touchy situation. The youngster fared better this time, however, and after an arduous seven-foul at-bat he forced Gamecock catcher Robert Beary to fly out to right field. The long battle was enough to settle down Whitson, and he quickly induced Evan Marzilli into a groundout to second.
A Mike Zunino homer narrowed the gap, but at the end of the fourth inning the score is 3-1, South Carolina.
For more on the South Carolina baseball and Florida baseball teams, visit SB Nation’s South Carolina blog Garnet and Black Attack and Florida blog Alligator Army. For more on the 2011 College World Series, visit our CWS hub.
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