Jones' 5-RBI night powers South Carolina to final midweek win of year
What’s the best cure to get Kennedy Jones out of a slump? Just put him in RBI situations, those are his favorite.
After a weekend in which the junior slugger went just 1-for-13, Jones drove in five runs in No. 13 South Carolina’s 15-3 run-rule win over Winthrop on Tuesday night.
“There was honestly no change, I just wanted to get back to sticking with my approach and usually good things happen,” Jones said.
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Jones wasted no time getting going in first at-bat of the game, as he punched a two-run single through the left side to cap off a three-run first inning for the Gamecocks (33-15, 13-11 SEC).
Later in the third, he crushed a two-run shot off the scoreboard to make it a 6-1 game. Jones finished 2-for-3 with five RBIs, including a sacrifice fly to bring home another run in the sixth.
“He took good swings tonight. He swung at good pitches for the most part,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “At the end of the day, that’s what hitting is. You take your best swing and you make sure you swing at the right pitches. He chased a little bit this weekend, tonight he did a much better job of staying in the strike zone.”
It ended up being another big night for most of the Gamecock offense, fresh off a comeback win over Missouri on Sunday. Gavin Casas, who had the go-ahead RBI in that game, picked up right where he left off with a long solo homer in the second.
South Carolina would crack double digits in the fifth, as Austin Brinling lifted a two-run double into the gap. In the seventh, he hit a two-run homer to right, his first as a Gamecock. Ethan Petry followed with a solo shot that hit a light tower to make it an 11-run lead.
Fresh off his SEC Player of the Week honors, Cole Messina capped off the scoring with a solo homer off the batter’s eye in dead center. His 15th of the year made it a 15-3 game. It was one of five homers on the night for the team.
“Every game’s important, you’ve got to stack as many as you can. When all is said and done and they’re deciding who goes where for the NCAA Tournament, you want to have the best resume you can,” Kingston said. “So these games are important, but it’s also important that our guys are playing at a very high level. Offensively obviously, we’ve turned a corner.”
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Meanwhile, it took a combined effort, but a good one from the bullpen to get the job done. Tyler Pitzer got the start on the mound and struck out four over two innings, giving up one run.
The local kid Jake McCoy came in first out of relief and struggled with his command. He walked three in 1.2 innings, bringing home a run on a hit by pitch with two outs in the fourth.
With McCoy unable to get out of the inning, South Carolina turned to Tyler Dean to get out of trouble. And he’d do just that. The right-hander faced only four batters and got all four out on just nine pitches.
Joey Wittig, who hadn’t pitched since April 5, came in for the sixth and struggled. He’d serve up a solo homer into right, then put two more runners on base afterwards. However, he’d get bailed out with a double play to end the inning.
Looking to seal the deal with the run-rule intact, Michael Polk found himself in a bases loaded jam with two outs. But he bounced back with a strikeout to end it.
“I liked the effort of everything I saw tonight,” Kingston said. “The bullpen, obviously offensively, we were outstanding again today, and our defense was really top notch. So just a complete game from us on the road in our last midweek game of the year. That was great to see.”
Up next: South Carolina will return home to open a massive three-game series against No. 15 Georgia on Thursday. First pitch is at 8 p.m. on ESPNU. The Gamecocks have yet to name a starting pitcher.
