South Carolina looking to 'get over that hump' and make big strides against Kentucky this weekend
While there’s still a few weeks left in the regular season, it’s hard not to pin this weekend as make or break for South Carolina.
SEC play has almost been a roller coaster ride for the Gamecocks up to this point. They’ve dropped four of their first six series, always managing to play well enough to avoid the sweep. But at some point, there has to be a steady, defining point on this ride.
With all of its goals still in front of them, they’ll have a chance to make a big statement when No. 4 Kentucky rolls into town on Friday (7 p.m., SECN+). The Wildcats (32-7, 15-3 SEC) have been excellent this year, playing well everywhere they’ve gone, including 13-2 on the road.
“They hit for power, they hit close to .300. They score runs at a pretty good clip. So it’s just a well rounded offense. It’s a well rounded team,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “They pitch well, they’re good out of the bullpen, they play good defense. They have a 32-7 record just because I think they’re very, very good across the board.”
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In a way, this is a huge series for both teams. Kentucky comes into this weekend fresh off its first series loss of the year in conference play. But for South Carolina, this could be the weekend where things finally come together.
Kingston spoke in detail about how close the team was to getting going after dropping a hard-fought series against Arkansas last weekend. Heading into this series, he said they have to “get over that hump” of winning an SEC series against a quality opponent.
“We keep playing toe to toe with all the best teams in the country. But we need to win one of these series against one of these top five teams,” Kingston said. “Most of the time, it’s a matter of one more hit, it’s a matter of one more play on defense, it’s a matter of making one more pitch that prevents a two-run single with two outs against you.
“All these games are coming down to one play on either side. And we need to be the ones to get that one more play on the positive side. You do that, you win the game and you win the series. It’s that simple.”
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From an offensive perspective, things haven’t fully clicked yet. After being a homer-happy team for the last couple of years, the Gamecocks have hit 58 long balls this season, which is well off their usual pace.
For the most part, they’ve been better about playing situationally this year. They lead the SEC with 281 walks and have been more prone to bunting to get a runner into scoring position. Now, it comes down to whether or not the rest of the bats can drive those runners in. If so, it could be the difference in winning and losing.
“It’s a very talented offense. I think we have the ability to compete with anybody in the country,” Parker Noland said. “We’ve really just been one hit away in most games. We’ve been working together as a group to push forward and make that jump to be one of the top teams in the country.”
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Looking at the bigger picture, South Carolina, despite its flaws, has a chance to make up some ground. As of right now, it is projected to be the No. 15 national seed in the NCAA Tournament, which would mean hosting a regional.
Winning this weekend would only help solidify that case. But it starts with getting a strong effort in all aspects of the game.
“Every day here is crunch time for us,” Kingston said. “Every practice feels like you need to pay very strict attention to every detail. So I just think it’s a journey. From Opening Day til the last day in Omaha is a journey and you just have to respect each day. … But at the end of the day, our goal is to make sure that we take a very consistent approach, so that in the end and the big picture, you’re where you want to be.”
