Florida moves on with 7-2 win over USC

Faced with elimination in the 2012 Southeastern Conference Tournament, No. 2 Florida Gators baseball fought to play another day, defeating the No. 4 South Carolina Gamecocks 7-2 on Friday evening at Regions Park in Hoover, AL.

Junior left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson (7-4) was the king of the hill for Florida, going the distance for the first complete game of his career while allowing just two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and no free passes.

The Gators gave Johnson a nice cushion offensively from the get-go, scoring in each of the first three innings and extending their lead with a three-run top of the fifth.

Florida (42-17) rallied for one run each in the first and second and used a two-run homer by junior catcher Mike Zunino (1/3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, SB, BB) in the third to jump ahead 4-0. UF’s lead extended to 7-0 in the fifth after USC walked in a run and freshman second baseman Casey Turgeon (2/4, 2 RBI, R) followed by smacking a two-RBI single.

South Carolina (40-17) was able to plate one run in the sixth and another with two outs in the ninth but was otherwise held scoreless by Johnson and the defense behind him.

With the victory, the Gators advance to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. Florida will face Vanderbilt on Saturday at approximately 4:30 p.m. live on Comcast Sports South. UF fell to VU 2-1 on Thursday, ending a seven-game winning streak the Gators had on the Commodores dating back to last season.