The South Carolina Gamecocks beat the Bruins 7-1 in the first game of the best-of-three College World Series on Monday night. South Carolina starter Blake Cooper moved to 13-2 on the season with a Herculean effort of 10 strikeouts in eight innings.
↵Gerrit Cole gave up six runs on 11 hits in his seven innings, and was hung with the loss. Ryan Rosenblatt (no relation to Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, site of the College World Series) of Bruins Nation summed it up:
↵↵↵Shockingly, in seven innings of work, Cole struck out just two. This from a pitcher who has the second-most strikeouts in 2010 that any UCLA pitcher has ever had in a single-season.The Gamecocks simply made an effort to put the bat on the ball, regardless of outcome. Of the 11 hits Cole surrendered, only one went for extra bases, but by the time he exited the game, six runs, four of which were earned, had come across to score. Matt Grace allowed a run in 1.1 innings of relief before Matt Griggs retired the final two batters USC would bring to the plate.
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Game two is Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN.
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