With Colin Burgess banged up Tuesday, the Gamecocks shuffled up the lineup moving Wes Clarke to catcher, Josiah Sightler to DH and inserting Noah Myers into the lineup in left field.
The lineup tweaks worked as the Gamecocks powered past The Citadel 9-5 thanks, in part, to a Myers grand slam and it could be the lineup moving forward with him still dealing with a nagging injury.
“Burgess was not able to play on Tuesday and that’s what made us look at the lineup a little bit with Noah Myers going in there,” Kingston said. I thought he gave us a nice spark with the grand slam and played good defense out there. He took good at-bats for most of the night. If Burgess is not able to play he’s the next man up there.”
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Kingston said Burgess will make the trip to Ole Miss for the three-game series starting Friday with the hope he’ll be able to play, but right now he’s considered day-to-day.
He didn’t specify the injury but said it’s noting that will keep Burgess out long-term.
If he’s not able to go, Kingston said Myers will likely stay in the outfield and they’ll keep Sightler, who’s nursing a bit of an injury, as the designated hitter.
“It allows us to bring Sightler to DH to help him a little bit with the groin injury he’s nursing and gives us a little more speed out there in the outfield. I thought Noah did a nice job the other night but we’ll continue to remain hopeful Burgess will be able to go cause he’s a very important piece of the puzzle.”
Myers only has two starts this season and the majority of his 15 at-bats have been off the bench. So far this season he’s hitting .133/.278/.400 but has one plate appearance in SEC play, a sac bunt to help spark a comeback win over LSU.
If Burgess does ultimately stay on the bench, it’ll be Wes Clarke as the Gamecocks’ catcher.
Clarke’s started 10 games this season behind the plate, all against non-conference opponents. He has one passed ball this season and has thrown out three runners this season in 14 attempts.
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“Coach (Stuart) Lake’s worked very hard with him to get him to be the kind of catcher he’s become. His throwing now is at a very good level. It’s pro average now throwing. He blocks the ball well. I think pitchers have a lot of confidence that if they have to throw a ball in the dirt he’ll block it. Then his receiving has come a long way.”
Game one starts at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday followed by game two Saturday at 7 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. Sunday.