Examining South Carolina's pitching plans for Ole Miss this weekend
As South Carolina baseball enters SEC play this weekend, they will face a tough Ole Miss pitching staff. The Gamecocks have struggled to be consistent at the plate this season, with some games better than others. But their strengths and weaknesses will be tested on full display against good competition.
“I think you always hope going into the season that you will be a 10 out of 10 in every category,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “We’re not there yet, I think our pitching has been very consistent at a very high level. I think our hitting has had moments of being really, really good but not quite as consistent as we expected.”
However, South Carolina has a strong pitching staff of its own to face the Ole Miss offense. Led by Friday starter Eli Jones, the Gamecocks have excelled on the mound far beyond expectations.
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After starting Opening Day, Jones has pitched to a 1.40 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched with 17 strikeouts. Jones has made strides and improvements throughout his time at South Carolina to earn a role as a starting pitcher. Friday, Jones will start on the mound for his fifth start of the season.
Meanwhile, Dylan Eskew has moved his way up the ranks and into a Saturday starting position for the Gamecocks. On the mound this season, Eskew has pitched to a 2.89 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts.
One of Eskew’s early season issues was facing an opposing lineup the second time through. But in his last outing against Longwood, he pitched much better, going five innings of one-run ball.
With Jones and Eskew hopefully starting the series on positive notes, backed by strong relief pitchers, South Carolina will have a strong chance to stop Ole Miss’s offense. Kingston announced that the Sunday starter is still TBD.
This was something he did last weekend as well. He ultimately went with Ty Good in that slot as he pitched three innings against Longwood. But he has made a name for himself on the mound as a transfer and could possibly start against Ole Miss. In 11.1 innings pitched, Good has pitched to a 0.79 ERA with 13 strikeouts.
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As of right now, Ole Miss has not released its weekend starters. But the Rebels have their own depth of strong and consistent pitchers.
“Now that we get into the 30-game grind of SEC pitching, we’re going to be facing nothing but high level arms,” Kingston said. “We need to be very disciplined in our at bats, we need to be able to handle fast balls and off speed pitches, we need to be able to use the whole field.”
Last weekend, Ole Miss started Gunnar Dennis on Friday. This season with the Rebels, Dennis has a 4.34 ERA with 22 strikeouts after appearing in four games.
Another appearing starter, Liam Doyle has appeared in five games pitching to a 3.24 ERA with 17 strikeouts. Doyle has shown great signs of improvement since transferring from Coastal Carolina University. Against Morehead State, Doyle struck out eight of the 14 batters he faced.
Lastly, Grayson Saunier showed maturity and skill on the mound against Morehead State. Saunier has pitched to a 2.55 ERA this season with 15 strikeouts.
Thus the battle on the mound this weekend will be one that could depict the fate of the series. Both teams will face tough SEC pitching staffs who will challenge each offense.
First pitch between the two teams on Friday is set for 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network Plus.
