OMAHA, NE (WIS) - The Gamecocks face an uphill battle in the finals of the College World Series after dropping the first game 5-1 to the Arizona Wildcats.
Two sophomore pitchers started game one. Right-hander Forrest Koumas (2-3) started for South Carolina (49-19). Konner Wade (11-3), also a right-hander, started for Arizona (47-17).
Arizona got on the board in the 1st inning with a rare home run in TD Ameritrade Park. Robert Refsnyder, batting .444 (8 of 18) in the CWS, hit one over the right field wall to put the Wildcats up 2-0.
In the 3rd, the Wildcats increased the lead to 3-0 with a base hit. That knocked Koumas, who is suffering from a stress fracture in his left elbow, out of the game.
The Wildcats added another run in the 5th to go up 4-0.
The Gamecocks finally got on the board in the 6th. Grayson Greiner started the inning with a double and Evan Marzilli drove him in with a base hit. It was the first run Wildcat pitcher Wade had given up in 15 innings pitched in the College World Series.
Later, Arizona scored on a two-out single in the bottom of the 7th to increase the lead to 5-1.
Christian Walker lead off the 9th with a base hit, but the Gamecocks weren't able to get anything going and the game ended with a score of 5-1.
Koumas, who was making his first start and just his second appearance since May 18, was saddled with the loss after allowing four hits and three runs, two earned, with one walk and three strikeouts over 2.1 innings.
Evan Beal turned in a solid performance in relief, keeping the Gamecocks in the contest. He worked 5.0 innings, allowing seven hits and two runs, one earned, with four walks and three strikeouts. Nolan Belcher finished up, working out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth by retiring the final two batters he faced.
Konner Wade started and went the distance for the Wildcats, scattering six hits. He walked one and fanned three in turning in his second complete game performance at the 2012 CWS.
The Gamecocks were out hit 12-6 in the contest. Arizona left 11 runners on base while Carolina stranded five.
Before the game, Gamecocks coach Ray Tanner said his team is pretty good, but isn't the 1927 Yankees. He added that it takes some luck to reach the finals three years in a row.
The Gamecocks had to replace five regulars from the team that beat Florida in last year's finals.
USC is trying to become the first school in 40 years to win three straight national championships. The last school to do so was Southern California in the 1970s.
After the game, Tanner said his team should get over the loss and move on. "If somebody would have said two months ago, you're going to be in the championship series, but you're going to be down one game, will you sign for it? Absolutely," said Tanner. "It's not where we would want to be today, but we're still playing and you win [Monday], you even it up and get a little momentum going into the third game."
"This is an Arizona team that has been red hot," said Tanner. "They've done everything the right way, pitching, defense, and scoring a bunch of runs."
The two teams will meet again on Monday at 8 p.m. Michael Roth is expected to pitch in that game. The Gamecocks must win to force game three on Tuesday.
USC is 7-0 in elimination games in the last three years.
WIS News 10's Rick Henry and Taylor Kearns are in Omaha for College World Series Coverage. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter. You can also look for updates on wistv.com and during our 6 and 11pm news.
Copyright 2012 WIS. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
USC and Arizona coaches pose with national championship trophy Saturday
