It was the dramatic extra innings win you’d expect from two teams realizing how much is at stake at the 2011 College World Series. In Game 1 of the three-game championship series at TD Ameritrade Stadium in Omaha, the defending champion South Carolina Gamecocks took the early series edge with a 2-1 win in 11 innings over the Florida Gators. The series returns tomorrow night with Florida’s back against the wall.
The pitching in tonight’s game was outstanding with both starters and bullpens getting the job done for well over 300 pitches combined on the night. The frustrating part, then, is that it was throwing errors that ultimately cost Florida the game after Christian Walker stole second base. It almost felt like a repeat of Virginia’s undoing in Bracket Play.
Forrest Koumas and Hudson Randall were both strong in their starts for the Gamecocks and Gators respectively, and the bullpens carried it through. Both pens will be a bit taxed heading into today’s game, putting the pressure on line-ups to take advantage and try to oust today’s starters that much earlier.