Almost seconds after South Carolina’s 2-1 loss to Old Dominion Saturday night—as Gamecock fans trickled out and the opponent’s fans celebrated across the field—Mark Kingston spent a moment with his team in the dugout.
The Gamecocks just put themselves in a precarious situation to advance, and the players crowded the middle of the dugout for a message from their coach.
The meeting didn’t last long, just a minute or two as the team tried to collect its thoughts, but the message was simple.
“I reminded them you have to get knocked out twice to end your season. We only got knocked down once. The goal was to come win this regional,” Kingston said. “We can still do that. It’s just going to have to be with the right mindset, the right positive attitude and belief. If they have that, we still have a chance.”
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South Carolina will now need to win three straight games over the next two days to advance out of this double elimination bracket. It starts at noon against Virginia (ESPNU), and if the Gamecocks win then they’d play Sunday night (6 p.m.) against Old Dominion.
A win there sets up a winner-take-all game Monday night to advance to a super regional.
Having that can really tax a pitching staff, but a sliver of good news for South Carolina is they didn’t use too much of the bullpen Saturday night thanks to a 7.2-inning outing from Thomas Farr.
“I was really determined today to come out and just pound the zone,” Farr said. “I knew they were a really good offense but I know I’m a really good pitcher. I knew if I competed in the zone they’d probably get themselves out a good many times. They did.”
Because of his lengthy outing, only one other pitcher threw—Will Sanders, 18 pitches—meaning both of the bullpen arms who threw Friday should be available in some capacity.
Brannon Jordan will start and the Gamecocks will "figure it out from there," Kingston said.
Daniel Lloyd threw the fewest amount of pitches (38) while Julian Bosnic (62) logged the most. Brett Kerry, who left the game with neck stiffness Friday after 50 pitches, is also available. All will be coming off a day of rest.
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“He only threw 50 pitches and he’s feeling better today,” Kingston said. “I’d anticipate he feels much better tomorrow. He’ll definitely be in play.”
It will be all hands on deck for South Carolina from a pitching perspective with every game an elimination one from here on out. Andrew Peters also hasn't thrown once yet this regional.
It’s not impossible to come back and win one like this—South Carolina did it in 2016 after losing the regional opener—but it just makes things tougher.
“A lot of teams over the years didn’t go through the postseason flawless. They dropped a game here and there. That’s our mindset,” Kingston said. “It’s going to get a little harder to get through a regional but it’s not impossible. It’s a double elimination tournament and we lost one game. We’re still alive. Our guys need to come out tomorrow ready to go.”
