Vibes not wavering for South Carolina heading into huge SEC road series
No. 24 South Carolina is coming off a tough weekend series where the team was swept
by then No. 15 Georgia. While being swept may be discouraging for a team, the Gamecocks are still confident in themselves moving forward.
“These weekends happen. It’s one of those things in the game of baseball, you’re going to get knocked down, but it is a matter of us staying together,” pitcher Eli Jones said.
Pitcher Jake McCoy knows the team will not dwell on the results of this past weekend.
“This team does a good job of not being down in the dumps all the time. If you’re just sad all the time, then you’re not going to be able to bounce back,” McCoy told GamecockCentral’s Jack Veltri in a Garnet Trust exclusive interview.
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As conferences around the country gear up for the final week of games before conference tournament week, not having a midweek game has given the team time to focus solely on the upcoming series against the top-ranked Tennessee Volunteers.
One benefit of the midweek break is giving the pitchers a day to focus on their craft. “It’s definitely nice having a break,” McCoy said. “We had a fundamental day for pitchers where we did a deep dive, so it was good to have one-on-one time with the coaches.”
But this small break leads right into one of the biggest series of the year for the Gamecocks.
“These are the weekends that you live for. We are ready to compete,” Jones said.
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South Carolina is currently in 4th in the SEC East standings and 7th in the conference
overall and looking to improve their seed for the conference tournament.
On top of that, South Carolina is looking to have the opportunity to host a regional during the NCAA Tournament.
Nonetheless, outfielder Blake Jackson says the focus remains the same: staying together.
“We’ve been focusing on staying together all year, so having each other’s backs is what we have been focused on. What is in the locker room is what will get us to where we want to go,” Jackson said.
The Gamecocks will look to get back in the win column on Thursday against No. 1 Tennessee. Game 1 will start at 6:30 p.m.
