COLUMBIA — It initially looked like a diving catch for an out South Carolina desperately needed. It turned out to be the pivotal blow in a stunning defeat that sent the top-seeded Gamecocks into the loser’s bracket of the NCAA Tournament.
What first looked like a diving catch by USC’s Dom Thompson-Williams in left-center field turned into a two-run fielder’s choice, a bizarre play in the fifth inning that proved the difference Friday night in fourth-seeded Rhode Island’s 5-4 victory over the Gamecocks before 6,823 at Founders Park.
The game finished without USC head coach Chad Holbrook, ejected in the seventh after a vigorous argument with home plate umpire Skip Deitz over strike calls.