Jake McCoy sees confidence boost from positive outing against Georgia
South Carolina’s sweep at the hands of Georgia this past weekend was demoralizing from a pitching standpoint.
The Gamecocks’ pitching staff shelled out 39 total runs across three games this past weekend. Garrett Gainey, previously the team’s closer, was the only starter to pitch past the fourth inning. And it took six pitchers to record the final 11 outs of Saturday’s series finale.
There wasn’t much for South Carolina’s pitchers to hang their hats on after three straight subpar performances on the mound. But Jake McCoy was an exception. The freshman left-hander had his strongest outing of the season on Friday night, which he said ultimately served as a confidence booster for him moving forward.
[GamecockCentral for $1: In-depth coverage and a great community]
McCoy entered Friday’s game in the fourth inning when the Gamecocks were down 10-1. Connor McCreery, who relieved starter Eli Jones, had just surrendered a three-run home run to Tre Phelps. South Carolina needed some stable, reliable pitching if it had any chance of getting back into the game.
The Gamecocks would only make a dent in the Bulldogs’ lead, but McCoy still had one of his best games. He allowed just two hits and no runs across 2.2 innings, the longest appearance of his career.
McCoy also struck out three batters and walked just one. One of his punchouts came against Charlie Condon, who leads all NCAA Division I baseball players in batting average (.454) and home runs (34).
“It’s definitely one thing I’ll never forget, I’ll say that,” McCoy told GamecockCentral’s Jack Veltri in a Garnet Trust exclusive interview. “My stuff had a little bit extra on it, I’m not going to lie. When that guy steps in the box, you’re bringing your A game.”
[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]
McCoy said he has worked on improving his confidence on the mound throughout the season. Pitching coach Matt Williams has been a central figure in that development process, McCoy said.
“Me and Williams have kind of talked all year about it – keeping my confidence level high and being calm on the mound. Early on in the season, I could definitely feel myself kind of getting caught up in the moment, being the center of attention. But now that I’m starting to get more comfortable in more outings, we’re just trying to keep that heart rate really low, keep the breathing good, and just executing what I’m doing.”
McCoy added that Williams has helped him with his confidence in situations where it isn’t as high.
“We do a lot of picturing yourself succeeding. So, like, going back to a moment when you pitched really well… What was the crowd like? What was the temperature outside? How did it feel in that moment?” McCoy said. “Actually, today, when we were throwing with Coach Williams, he said something. He was like, ‘Hey, when stuff is going really well, take a baseball and trace out what your pitch grips are. Just to help you, if you’re struggling, to go back to that moment and re-center.’”
McCoy may not need to use that strategy at the moment, though. As of right now, his confidence is as high as it’s ever been during his college career.
“If I can pitch well against that Georgia offense, which is really hot, who’s to say I can’t pitch against anybody?” McCoy said.
