Gamecock first basemen Christian Walker saw his team in trouble and did what he could to make something happen. With one out in the top of the 11th inning, Walker ripped a single straight up the middle off Nick Maronde. He promptly stole second base, then everything broke down for the Gators.
In a bizarre series of events, Florida incurred two consecutive throwing errors attempting to reach Walker, allowing the Gamecock to reach home plate completely unimpeded. That mistake was all South Carolina needed.
After working their way out of the rest of the jam, Florida faced Sophomore closer Matt Price in the most important half-inning of their season. Designated hitter Brian Johnson led off the side strong, knocking a single to right field. Paul Wilson then came on to pinch run for Johnson, and was moved to second on a Josh Adams groundout.
With the tying run in scoring position, Price showed immense poise, striking out Tyler Thompson with a blistering high fast ball after an arduous nine-pitch at-bat.
Last call for the Gators, and intimidating right-fielder Daniel Pigott walked up to plate sporting a .389 average with runners in scoring position. Yet Price remained calm, and with his second pitch induced a groundout to end the game. The South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Florida Gators, 2-1, in 11 innings to take a 1-0 series lead.
Check back with this StoryStream for more updates on the College World Series. And for more on these schools, check out SB Nation's Florida blog, Alligator Army, and our South Carolina blog, Garnet and Black Attack.