What Mark Kingston said about how South Carolina will use Will Sanders
The good news for the Gamecocks is the pitching staff is getting a tinge deeper heading into the postseason with Will Sanders likely set to return.
Mark Kingston reaffirmed Monday afternoon the right-hander should pitch at some point in South Carolina’s regional this weekend in Founders Park, but there is a lingering question.
Where will Sanders pitch? As of right now, that answer seems to be in relief.
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“I would guess this weekend it would probably be in the bullpen. That way you can use him maybe more than once,” Kingston said. “If we’re fortunate enough to get through a regional then maybe the following week we’d have some more decisions to make. But I would guess this weekend it would be out of the bullpen.”
Sanders has been a full-time starter the last two seasons at South Carolina with the last time he came out of the bullpen being 2021 as a freshman.
His numbers in relief–albeit a small sample size mostly against mid-major competition–have been better than that as a starter.
Sanders has thrown 13.1 innings out of the bullpen over his career with a 2.03 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Teams are hitting .222/.286/.244 against him in relief with a .278 BABIP.
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He doesn’t strike out a ton of guys out of the pen (nine over 13 innings) but has walked just four in the same span.
In 185.2 innings as a starter, Sanders has a 4.27 ERA with a 1.29 WHIP and a .301 BABIP. He’s struck out 202 to 62 walks (3.3 ratio) with teams hitting .250/.311/.407 against him.
Those numbers are inflated, obviously, from a tough 2023 where h has a 5.75 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP in 56.1 innings (11 starts). He’s struck out 66 to 24 walks and allowed 10 home runs this season.
Sanders has a 6.88 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in seven SEC starts (35.1 innings) with 40 strikeouts, 19 walks and 16 extra-base hits (seven homers) allowed.
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With Eli Jones, Jack Mahoney, Matthew Becker and James Hicks showing flashes as starters the last few weeks, it could be tempting to have Sanders and a high-90s fastball available in relief.
Sanders missed his last two starts and the SEC Tournament dealing with a lower-body injury. The Gamecocks’ right-hander, though, has been able to keep his arm in shape during his time off to make sure he can pitch in the tournament.
He was in a boot during South Carolina’s watch party Monday.
“He’s been throwing very regularly ever since he stopped pitching in games,” Kingston said before the SEC Tournament. “But he has been throwing and his goal and our goal is that he’s available for the NCAAs.”
The Gamecocks haven’t announced their pitching setup yet, but will make decisions after diving into each team.
“We’re going to set our cards up to win a regional as best we can, not just the next game,” Kingston said. “If you’re trying to get to Omaha you have to make decisions to try and win the regional as a whole. That’s how we’ll approach it.”