Blake Jackson adopts new hitting philosophy after recent change in South Carolina’s lineup
The makeup of South Carolina’s lineup has stayed relatively consistent over the past few weeks. After tinkering with the lineup throughout the season, Mark Kingston has found an optimal lineup that he has stuck with since the Gamecocks’ recent string of offensive outbursts late in the campaign.
That hasn’t stopped him from making some minor changes, though. In one specific instance, Blake Jackson moved up in the lineup after a string of positive performances at the plate.
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Jackson appeared in four games during the week of May 1 — one against East Tennessee State and three against Missouri. He hit fifth in the lineup for three of those contests, with the lone exception being when he hit ninth in a game against the Tigers on May 4.
Jackson recorded a hit in all four games and went 7-for-15 total over the course of that week. As a result, Kingston opted to move him into the No. 3 slot in South Carolina’s midweek matchup against Winthrop on May 7, where he has remained since then.
“I’m not trying to do too much – whether that’s a bunt, as you’ve seen me do, or just move guys over,” Jackson said. “Just whatever I can do to help them out because they can really drive in runs and do damage.”
In doing so, Kingston placed Jackson between two of the most potent bats in South Carolina’s lineup.
Just above Jackson is Ethan Petry, who has a .307/.483/.659 slash line along with 19 home runs and 50 RBI. One spot below Jackson is Cole Messina, who owns a .298/.436/.644 slash line. He has also hit 15 home runs and driven in a team-high 52 runs.
Jackson said hitting between Petry and Messina has given him a boost of confidence over the past week. He added that he has adopted a new philosophy whenever he steps up to bat. That is, do whatever he can to help bring Messina to the plate and runners home.
“(I’m) just trying to pass the bat and just keep things going between those two, get guys in scoring position, doing whatever I can do to help them out because they can really swing the bat,” Jackson said.
Jackson’s new philosophy paid off in the first inning of South Carolina’s series opener against Georgia on May 9.
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In his first at bat of the contest, Jackson squared up to bunt with runners on first and second and made contact on a 2-0 pitch that dribbled through the right side of the infield. Georgia first baseman Corey Collins, expecting a bunt, inched closer to home plate before the ball was hit. But Collins missed the ball as he attempted to field it, allowing Jackson to reach first base safely.
Jackson’s quick thinking on the base paths earned him an extra base on the play. Collins and second baseman Slate Alford both ran towards the ball, which left second base unoccupied. Jackson hesitated for a moment before advancing to the open base.
Alford was then forced to throw the ball towards third base, the only place Georgia could get an out after Austin Brinling scored from second. Petry, who reached base on a single one batter earlier, slid into third safely.
Messina was unable to earn the Gamecocks’ third hit in as many at bats and struck out looking. But both Petry and Jackson came home to score later in the inning, making it a 4-3 ball game.
“I don’t really know what they were doing. Coach (Monte) Lee just told me to get it past the pitcher and move the guys over. And (I) got lucky,” Jackson said. “That was pretty crazy. I’m glad it went our way.”
In a way, this play epitomized exactly what South Carolina’s players hope to do in this weekend’s regular season finale versus Tennessee — lean on each other for success.
“Having each other’s backs is what we’ve just been focused on,” Jackson said. “What’s in that locker room is what’s going to get us where we want to go.”
