Gamecocks leave 16 men on base, fall to Florida Gators 4-3 in 13

June 11, 2013; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; South Carolina starting pitcher Jack Wynkoop (13) throws a pitch during the first inning against North CarolinaChapel Hill Super Regional of the NCAA baseball tournament at Boshamer Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

The South Carolina Gamecocks just couldn’t get the big hit across when they needed it the most. That opened the door for the Florida Gators, and in the end, the road team got just what they needed to win.

Leaving 16 men on base and putting up 14 hits, the Gamecocks conceded a RBI on a sac fly in the top of the 13th and couldn’t match it as they fell, 4-3, to the Florida Gators at Carolina Stadium on Saturday night.

Twice–in the 6th and 8th–Carolina left the bases loaded, and while they would score one in the sixth to go ahead 3-0 after Joey Pankake and Marcus Mooney each brought in a run in the 5th, they had a chance to do so much more. Meanwhile, the Gators’ A.J. Puk and Richie Martin each added run-scoring hits in the 8th to pull the visitors within 3-2, and, with the Gamecocks failing to add insurance in the bottom of the frame, Casey Turgeon’s sac flyout in the top of the 9th knotted it up. The Gamecocks would leave two more men on in the 11th and 12th, setting up Justin Shafer’s sac fly RBI in the top of the 13th for the eventual winning run.

The stat of the night: Connor Bright’s 0-6 evening at the plate. Bright entered the game hitting .352 but looked far from it tonight.

Jack Wynkoop got the start and went seven strong, giving up a run with no one out in the 8th while scattering five hits and striking out three while walking one. Joel Seddon, though, was the hard luck loser in relief as he was responsible for the game winning run. Puk went 3.1 innings of shutout relief, surrendering a hit and a walk while striking out three Gamecocks.

The rubber game of the series is set for 1:30pm tomorrow.