Jack's takes from South Carolina's midweek win over Winthrop
Every game counts the same for Mark Kingston and South Carolina. If there’s a game on the schedule, they’re going to play it and do what they have to do to get the win.
And that’s what the Gamecocks have done this year. They picked up a 15-3 win over Winthrop in Rock Hill on Tuesday, finishing 12-1 in midweek games.
Here are my takes from the win.
Offense still crushing the ball
Another game, another high-scoring effort from the Gamecock offense. South Carolina scored early and often, cracking double-digit runs by the fifth inning on Tuesday. Leading the way was Kennedy Jones, who went 2-for-3 with five RBI in the win.
It was also a big night for Austin Brinling, who went 4-for-5 with four RBI. He doesn’t consider himself to be much of a power hitter, but he did have a two-run double and two-run homer in the win.
In total, South Carolina hit five homers to get the win, the others coming from Gavin Casas, Ethan Petry and Cole Messina. Things are definitely clicking at the right time for this lineup. And that’s what they’ll need to continue to do with a very good Georgia team coming into town on Thursday.
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Young bullpen arms deliver
In these midweek, lower stake games, South Carolina has tried to give younger pitchers an opportunity to shine. That’s exactly what it did against Winthrop, throwing five lesser-used pitchers to get the job done.
Tyler Pitzer got the start on the mound and struck out four over two innings, giving up one run. The local kid Jake McCoy came in first out of relief and struggled with his command. He walked three in 1.2 innings, bringing home a run on a hit by pitch with two outs in the fourth.
With McCoy unable to get out of the inning, South Carolina turned to Tyler Dean to get out of trouble. And he’d do just that. The right-hander faced only four batters and got all four out on just nine pitches.
Joey Wittig, who hadn’t pitched since April 5, came in for the sixth and struggled. He’d serve up a solo homer into right, then put two more runners on base afterwards. However, he’d get bailed out with a double play to end the inning.
Looking to seal the deal with the run-rule intact, Michael Polk found himself in a bases loaded jam with two outs. But he bounced back with a strikeout to end it.
It wasn’t always easy, but with the offense doing plenty of damage, the pitching was able to only surrender three runs on five hits over seven innings. More than good enough.
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Having a lot of fun right now
As of late, you can tell there’s a different vibe and mojo in the dugout. Maybe it’s because final exams have come and gone and baseball is the only thing going on. It could also be the fact that the weather is getting warmer and summer is rapidly approaching. Regardless, South Carolina is having fun and winning obviously plays a big part in that.
Kingston noted this after the game on Tuesday, saying they’re pretty relaxed and motivated right now. He said that’s the vibe you want as a team. He added: “You want to feel like you’re getting stronger and gaining momentum as the season is starting to get later.”
And he’s exactly right. Baseball is supposed to be fun and it’s a lot easier to see that when you’re winning games consistently. The Gamecocks have a big challenge ahead this weekend in a top 15 showdown at Founders Park. But with the way things are going right now, who wouldn’t like their chances?
