Box Score
Box score
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Tyler Thornburg pitched his second-career
complete game and Jon Matthews hit his first collegiate home run as
the Charleston Southern baseball team upset the No. 6-ranked
University of Florida Gators 6-3 Sunday afternoon at McKethan
Stadium.
The Buccaneers (6-10) handed the highly-ranked Gators (11-3)
just their third loss of the season in the series finale, and they
held the vaunted Gator offensive attack to a season-low seven hits.
The loss also snapped a five-game win streak for Florida.
Charleston Southern jumped out on top in the first inning after
Brantley Meier led off the game with a single. He stole second and
would later score off a sacrifice fly from Thornburg.
After Meier drew a walk in the third, Matthews stepped up to the
plate and blasted his first collegiate homer to put the road squad
on top 3-0.
Matthews again came through for the Buccaneers as he hit a
two-run single in the fourth, driving home Bentley Christmas and
Derek Smith.
Preston Tucker would cross the plate in the home half of the
fourth to take away Thornburg's shutout, but Matt Still answered in
the fifth when he was plated by way of a Walt Quattlebaum
single.
Matt den Dekker scored on a Tucker groundout in bottom of the
fifth to cut into the lead and Bryson Smith scored in the ninth,
but Thornburg struck out the last two batters and made sure Florida
would get no closer than 6-3.
Matthews paced Charleston Southern with his career-high three
hits and four runs batted in. Nick Chinners, Smith and Quattlebaum
all recorded two hits.
Meier was 1-for-3 and scored twice for the Buccaneers.
Thornburg (3-1) pitched a brilliant game for the blue and gold,
as he scattered just seven hits over nine innings. He allowed just
three runs, while striking out 11 Gators and walking just
three.
Thornburg's other complete game came March 22, 2008, when he
blanked Presbyterian College in a 12-0 CSU victory. He recorded 10
strikeouts on that day.
Tucker and Josh Adams each picked up two hits to lead Florida.
Tucker, Tyler Thompson and Kamm Washington all had an RBI, and den
Dekker, Tucker and Smith all scored for the Gators.
Tommy Toledo (2-1) picked up his first loss of the season after
allowing four runs on five hits in just three innings. Nick Maronde
came in for Toledo and lasted just 1.1 innings after allowing two
runs on one hit. He walked four and was only able to record just
one strikeout.
Steven Rodriguez relieved Maronde and allowed four hits in four
shutout innings. Chas Spottswood pitched the final 0.2 innings and
did not allow any runs or hits.
Next up for Charleston Southern will be a 4 p.m. matchup March
16 with University of South Carolina-Upstate. The game will take
place in Spartanburg, S.C. CSU took down the Spartans 8-4 March 9
at CSU Ballpark.