Jack's takes from South Carolina's come from behind win over Kentucky
Not even less than 12 hours removed from the game, it’s still hard to process what went down at Founders Park on Friday night. Not once but twice, South Carolina came from behind to pick up a 6-5 win over Kentucky in 10 innings.
Without a doubt, this was the win of the year for the Gamecocks. They desperately needed to get off to a good start this weekend and this was more than a good enough way to do so.
Here are my takes from the win.
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Where did this come from?
After giving up three runs in the top of the ninth, I think most were not expecting South Carolina to make any noise in the bottom of the inning. Mark Kingston made the mistake of leaving Ty Good in too long, and Garrett Gainey came in and couldn’t get out of trouble. If the score held up, this would’ve been one of those head-scratching moments.
But slowly, the Gamecock offense was waking up. Blake Jackson hit a solo homer into the visitors bullpen to open the frame. After a Talmadge LeCroy strike out, Kingston decided to pinch hit for Dylan Brewer. He sent Dalton Reeves up to the plate, looking for some pop. And that’s just what he got.
Reeves blasted a solo shot of his own into right field to make it a one-run game. Could South Carolina really pull this off? With Lee Ellis due up, Kingston again went back to his bench and called on Gavin Casas, who hadn’t been hitting consistently all year. But on a 2-1 pitch, he crushed a solo homer deep into the night, effectively tying the game with one swing.
And then obviously, the swing of the night came one inning later. After going back down 5-4, Jackson hit a two-run homer over the left field wall to give South Carolina the walk-off victory.
Through eight innings, this offense did nothing at the plate. They struck out a ton and couldn’t bring across more than one run. Whether it was luck or just something clicking, the bats really came to life when it mattered most. And at the same time, Kingston deserves some credit for pulling the right strings after leaving Good in too long.
Co-Friday night starters seems to work
For the second straight week, Roman Kimball got the ball in game one of the series. He only lasted three innings, but he pitched well, as he gave up one run on two hits and struck out four.
Just like last week, Good came in to relieve Kimball and put together another strong outing. The right-hander dominated the Wildcats through five innings of work, giving up one hit. He ran into some trouble in the ninth, but I believe he was out of gas by that point. He shouldn’t have been brought back out. End his outing on a high note.
But I think it’s clear this is the system South Carolina will try to go with moving forward. And honestly, I like it. Kimball can’t go a ton of innings right now, but Good can come in and give you more than enough afterwards. Plus, it helps preserve the bullpen if things go well.
With a TBA slot in the rotation for Sunday, I could see a similar situation happening depending on who’s still available to pitch. But Good’s outing makes things a lot better for the rest of the bullpen this weekend.
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Need to carry this momentum
When you win the way in which South Carolina did, the momentum has to keep going, right? After having such an up and down season, this feels like the game where things finally clicked. It’s one game but this could be where they start to go on a run.
At the same time, Kentucky is still a solid team and will be coming right back to try and even the series on Saturday. But with Eli Jones on the mound, the Gamecocks have a legit chance to win this series. You just hope the offense goes right back to work and continues to plate more runs.
Friday’s win was nothing short of remarkable. It really is just what the team has been needing. They’ve had so many close, ugly losses throughout the year. But now, this could be the start of where the tide shifts for South Carolina. We’ll just have to see where things go from here.
