Everything Mark Kingston said after South Carolina's 4-3 win over The Citadel
Following No. 20 South Carolina’s 4-3 win over The Citadel, head coach Mark Kingston spoke to the media. Here’s what he had to say.
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On Garrett Gainey’s relief outing to close the game out
“I thought he did great. Obviously, he gave up a leadoff double, it’s hard to not let that guy score. And so he got the ground ball, then he finished with the strikeout on the elevated fastball. That looked like the old Gainey there. He’s been in a little bit of a funk the last few times out. That looked like the old Gainey tonight.”
On Will Tippett’s turnaround at the plate
“Well, you don’t just make up your mind and become a good player, you work hard, you stay consistent. He’s made an adjustment to just go to the right side of the plate. He was a switch hitter and he’s just focusing on one side of the the plate. And it’s paid immediate dividends.”
On scoring early runs in this game
“Obviously, we needed those runs because we needed them at the end. We only won by one run. When we come down here to Charleston to play a well-coached team, a very scrappy group, we expect the game to be close. It just always seems to be that way. So I’m really glad that we had the fortitude to hold on and do what it took to win a close game.”
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On freshmen pitchers stepping up
“We had Pitzer as a freshman, McCoy’s a freshman, Marlatt’s a freshman. I thought the freshmen did a really nice job tonight. All of them showed poise. This was a great environment here. It was a packed stadium, it was loud, it was emotional. So I’m really proud with all those pitchers and how they did.”
On Kennedy Jones’ status after getting into a late inning collision at second base
“We’re assuming he’s okay. He got with the athletic trainer and he seems to be fine. He got hit with the ball on that double play, obviously. We’re hoping that’s not going to be a thing.”
On what he saw out of Tippett’s swing from the left side that made them want to switch to righty only for now
“We’ve had him now for two years. We’ve seen him switch hitting for two years. And a great majority of his highlights have been from the right side of the plate. His homer against Clemson, last year against Auburn, 4-for-5 in the SEC Tournament against Georgia in the SEC Tournament last year. There was just too much track record now to know that he was much better on his natural side. We just needed to go with it. Obviously, it’s been a huge spark for our offense.”
