Every year, the Gamecocks sport wristbands with sayings for that season. Typically, it’s Mark Kingston who comes up with the saying, but this year was different.
The Gamecock player council—three pitchers and three hitters—made up the slogan and as the Gamecocks get ready for a final series before the onslaught of their schedule starts Kingston hopes they adhere to the saying.
“One of the things they put on the wristband was “1-0 today.” That means focus on today, don’t look forward and don’t look bad. Just focus on being 1-0 today,” Kingston said. “I think they’re doing a really good job of following that. Friday our goal will be to go 1-0. We won’t be thinking about this past Tuesday or thinking about Saturday. This team will just be thinking about that Friday game.”
The No. 13/14 The Gamecocks host Mercer starting Friday afternoon with plenty of big series on the horizon at Texas next weekend and SEC play starting at Vanderbilt the following week.
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For a South Carolina team knowing what’s down the road, it could be easy to look over a Mercer team coming off being swept but Kingston is warning against it.
The mantra around the team is to win today and then focus on the next game the next day, and it’s something Kingston hopes helps the team this weekend against the Bears.
Mercer started the season with a sweep over Jackson State but has lost four straight with a midweek loss to Georgia Tech and getting swept at home by Southern Illinois with two losses by at least five runs.
It’s a quality team, projected as one of the betters squads in the Southern Conference and No. 65 in the RPI and will be a good non-Power 5 test for the Gamecocks.
“We’ll continue most of the time to focus on us, playing our game and improving the things we need to improve and focusing on the things we need to focus on,” Kingston said. “Like Clemson, I didn’t want our guys overwhelmed with the team in the other dugout. I want them to focus on what we do. With Mercer, with Texas and Vanderbilt we’ll continue to do the same thing.”
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The Gamecocks (7-0) come in off an emotional two-game sweep of Clemson and a walloping of Winthrop in the midweek.
Despite winning 12 straight games dating back to last season the Gamecocks aren’t a perfect team or a finished product with Kingston wanting to see defense improve and pitchers not walking as many guys.
“I think we’re getting better. We’ll be a work in progress. Braylen Wimmer’s not going to turn into Willie Mays overnight in centerfield but he has all the talent and will become a productive defensive centerfielder and/or second baseman. We have complete confidence in that,” he said.
“I think defensively the more we play the better we’ll get. This is a team more than capable of playing good defense. The other big thing I want to see improve is our starting pitchers walk less guys. I think we’ll continue to see that as well.”
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The Gamecocks have a .968 fielding percentage with eight errors on the season and, while starting pitching has a 2.79 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and .190 batting average against the starters have given up 15 walks (4.7 BB/9).
They’ll try to get better while adding Wes Sweatt back into the bullpen coming off Tommy John surgery and likely without Jeff Heinrich who’s dealing with an ankle injury.
With Heinrich dealing with that, the Gamecocks could opt to start Joe Satterfield at second, who had three hits and five RBI against Winthrop Tuesday.
He gives you a nice, mature, professional approach. He’s not overwhelmed. Most of his at-bats got to two strikes the other night and he didn’t panic. He kept battling and did what a lot of hitters in our lineup do: battle with two strikes,” Kingston said. “He just does a lot of things and is a real nice utility player for our team.”
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Game times (ET)
Friday: 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus, 107.5 FM)
Saturday: 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus, 107.5 FM)
Sunday: Noon (SEC Network , 107.5 FM)
Probable pitching rotations (South Carolina listed first)
Friday: RHP Thomas Farr (1-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. RHP Tommy Green (0-1, 10.80 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Brannon Jordan (0-0, 5.62 ERA) vs. RHP Taylor Lobus (1-1, 5.56 ERA)
Sunday: LHP Julian Bosnic (0-0, 2.08 ERA) vs. RHP Jackson Kelley (1-1, 5.19 ERA)
