Everything Mark Kingston said previewing Florida series
Before South Carolina gets ready to head to Gainesville this weekend, head coach Mark Kingston met with the media on Wednesday to preview the Florida series. Here’s what he had to say.
“Well, coming off a really big, exciting win last night, we’re anxious to get on the road and head to Gainesville. It’ll be a great challenge for us as it always is going to play in that ballpark against that program. Putting in some work today and then we’ll hit the road tomorrow and see how it goes.”
Update on Cole Messina
“Cole, we are hoping will be available this weekend. It’s a day-to-day thing. He just has to continue to pass certain tests that progress towards being fully cleared.”
On his weekend rotation plans
“The weekend rotation, we have a pretty good feel. I’m not sure if we want to release it just yet. I want to check with Matt (Williams), just to double and triple check if that’s the direction we’re going to go. But we should be releasing it fairly shortly.”
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On trying to play better on Fridays
“You have to play better baseball. I mean, at the end of the day, you’ve got to play better baseball than the team you’re playing. We’ve just have had some close games on Fridays that didn’t go our way. So we just need to play better baseball, whether that means a little bit better defense, whether it means Eli (Jones) really has a great outing, whether it means we get some more clutch hits, it could be any of those things. But we do need to continue to try to look for ways to make sure that we get the weekend off on a better foot.”
Quick scouting report on Florida
“Well, obviously with them, it all starts with (Jac) Caglianone, both from a pitching standpoint and the offensive side. He’s a dominant performer in both areas. And so you’ve got to be very cognizant of him and what he can do to beat you. So it starts with that. They’re an elite defensive team as they generally are. And it’s Florida, again, they’re gonna have a very competitive mindset. They always have, they always will. And you’ve got to respect their ability to win games. They’ve struggled some in the midweeks, but they’ve also had some really good weekends. So we respect the program and respect going down into their ballpark because in this league, that’s always a challenge.”
On handling troubles with runners in scoring position
“It just changes by guys being able to relax in those moments. The guys that right now are struggling, statistically, in those areas have historically been very good. You can start with our two big guys there that get us all going, we know who those are. Last year, they were tremendous with runners in scoring position this year, it hasn’t quite been the same. Baseball’s funny like that sometimes, you get in a rut, and it takes a little longer to get out. And they’re obviously working very hard to be the players and to be the run producers that we all know they are. And sometimes it just takes one good at-bat and they start to feel better, and then it gets contagious. But I do know, we do need to do a better job of putting the ball in play with two strikes. And then we need to probably be a little bit more aggressive so that we don’t get into bad counts with runners in scoring position. I think some guys are a little bit too aggressive in those situations. Some guys aren’t aggressive enough. And it’s always a case by case basis. But yeah, we were well aware that we need to do a better job there. Because as I look at some of the stats of other teams that were playing, if we were just even close to our our batting average, normally as as what we need to be with runners in scoring position, and we might have three, four more wins easily. And so it’s the difference between being really good and being elite. It’s something that as you mentioned, we’re not going to we can’t talk about it too much because then the thing becomes a bigger thing. But we just need to keep keep working every day until it turns.”
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On playing Florida last year, what it’s going to take to keep the energy going
“Well, obviously we played them five times last year and the home team won all five games. And so it seems to be in this series since I’ve been here that the home team has a major advantage. So we need to find a way to overcome that. Again, I don’t think you put pressure on your team. You don’t make them press you just say, ‘We’re going down there to play the best baseball we can.’ We’re gonna enjoy it. We’re gonna have a lot of fun. And then let the chips fall where they may from there.”
On making any adjustments to road routine
No, consistency, I think, is the key generally. And we’re talking about what two road trips? I don’t think you change everything you do based on two road trips. You’ve just got to be fairly consistent. You look for little things maybe along the way that might spark something. But all in all, the way we do things is the way things have been done for a long, long time. And so, at the end of the day, it’s about pitching and hitting and defense and running the bases and all those things. That’s what wins ballgames, regardless of where you play.”
On if Dalton Reeves has earned more playing time when Messina gets back
“Well, I think he’s under consideration. There’s no question about it. He’s done a really nice job and his defenses has been much better than we could have ever dreamed. His development since he got here has been through the roof defensively. He’s always been a very solid hitter over the years, but he’s swinging the bat well now. The trick is, for one guy to go in, that means somebody has to come out. I think our hitters that you can generally say have an argument to be in the lineup, I think it’s 11 or 12 right now. And so on any given day, we can only put nine in there. So I can tell you, as of maybe a month ago, he wasn’t in that group of 11. Now he’s in that group of 11.”
On what he’s seeing from players not hitting with RISP
Every guy’s different. some guys are too aggressive, some guys not aggressive enough. I think sometimes you’ve got to understand we have played one of the top 10 schedules in the country. And with that comes elite pitching. And we face elite pitchers all year. But I also think we can do better. And I think we will do better. But I think it’s trying to find what makes the light go on. For each guy, one guy might be mental, one guy might be you’ve got to be more aggressive. Next guy might be stopped chasing and rolling over early in the count, and the guy can’t score. It’s there. It’s generally not something you can stereotype a whole group with. Generally, you got to pick this guy and what can help him pick this guy, what can help him and then collectively, you hope that it all gets better together.”
On Will Tippett’s play
“Will Tippett’s in the lineup right now because he plays elite defense, both in terms of consistency and range. He’s a leader out there on defense, he’s kind of a nice centerpiece along with Cole Messina when they’re both playing. He has 12 stolen bases, which is an elite number at this point in the season. So from a base running standpoint, from a defense standpoint, he’s an elite player. The offense is not what he or what we want at this point. But it’s not to the point where we think the negatives outweigh the positives in terms of his contribution to us winning games. So as long as we think he’s doing more to help us win games, then we’re going to continue to run them out there. And at some point, I think he’ll start to swing the bat better. He works too hard not to, he’s too athletic not to. Just hasn’t happened yet. But it doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future.”
On Eli Jones post-A&M start
“I think, again, you talk about consistency. You look at the tape, you talk to your pitching coach, you look at what went right, what went wrong, was there anything different, and then you move on to the next start. That’s what baseball is all about. Baseball is about consistency. It’s about trying to stay as even keel as you can learn the lessons you need to along the way, learn about the adjustments you need to make. And sometimes the best adjustment you can make is say, ‘Hey, it was one of those nights. I just missed my spots. And my mechanics were fine. My mindset was good. It just I missed some spots against some really good hitters, and they made me pay,’ and you move on to the next one.”
On what sticks out about the Super Regional vs. Florida last year
“We lost the chance to go to Omaha. I mean, that’s what sticks out. We went there as a very hot team that had the ability to be one of the best eight teams in the country. I think when all was set and done, we were one of the best eight teams in the country. But we had to go on the road to the team that ended up finishing second in the country, and we lost the series, so that’s what stands out. We had an Omaha team, there’s no question about it. But because of some injuries that led to some losses that led to having to go on the road for Super Regional instead of hosting. We missed out on opportunity to go to Omaha, that’s what I’ll take with me. But I’ll also remember all the great things that we did that year and it was the last time with (Braylen) Wimmer and (Will) McGillis and (Jack) Mahoney and (Will) Sanders and (Noah) Hall and all those guys. I remember that too, Just being in the dugout, knowing that journey with that group of guys was over. You remember the good and the bad, always.”
On Ethan Petry and Cole Messina stepping up as leaders after last year
“I think they’ve done a good job. On the offensive side, you look at those two and then (Talmadge) LeCroy. When we’re going well, those guys are doing a really nice job of leading by example, but also being willing to step up and say what needs to be said. Pitching side, Eli Jones has done a really nice job there. So I think there’s no question those guys are very much invested in their program in their team in success wanting to win. So I’d say they’ve done a good job. There’s always room for improvement. Leaders at 40 are better than when they were 30 and 20, etc. So I think one of my challenges is to continue to really help those guys come along and learn what really good leadership is.”
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On postponed Clemson game not being made up
“Yeah, it’s disappointing for everybody. Obviously, we all know how much it means. But the combination of games, road games, academic schedules, final exams, we just couldn’t find a place that made sense. So disappointing for everybody. Whether we look for a replacement game for that, and another spot, I think we need to continue to evaluate where we are health wise, where we are RPI wise, where we are scheduled wise, what dates are available? It’s a lot of levels to try to figure out a game. And so we’ll continue to evaluate it. And if we feel like it’s the best move, we’ll explore.”
On WBB winning national championship
“I mean, respect number one is the first word that comes to mind both for Dawn (Staley), for her program, for her coaches, her players. I mean, they’re the role model for everybody, I think just not only in our athletic department, but in this university about what excellence really looks like. It’s a consistent excellence. It’s a total rebuild from last year’s team to go undefeated and win at all I just think says so much about what Dawn’s capable of, what she does. She has nothing but the utmost respect coming from me. We text quite a bit. And again, I think she’s so good for the school, for this athletic department, and we’re all lucky to have her here.”
