Ray Tanner has now established himself as a living legend. The head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks won his second College World Series title in a row with tonight’s 5-2 victory over the Florida Gators, and the team set records for winning in the process — making Tanner’s run at South Carolina one of the greatest of all-time.
WIth tonight’s win, the Gamecocks now hold the longest winning streak in College World Series history with 11. Previously, USC and LSU both had been tied with the current South Carolina team at 10. Thanks to starting pitching Michael Roth, those names have been erased and the Gamecocks stand alone in their achievements.
Tonight’s game wasn’t ever that close given Roth’s dominant pitching performance, allowing only 5 hits and 1 run in 7.2 innings. South Carolina’s hitters came up big enough to give Roth the cushion he needed. Gator’s catcher Mike Zunino was the only UF player able to do anything at the plate, going 3 for 3 with a double and solo HR. South Carolina, meanwhile, enjoyed two hit nights from Christian Walker, Brady Thomas and Peter Mooney, who also hit a solo home run.
For Roth, this was simply an extension of what he’s been doing on the mound all season. For the year, he’s 13-3 with a 0.98 ERA. He struck out 106 in 137 innings and only allowed 2 home runs all season.