Baseball is a sample size sport, with conclusions about a team hard to come by early but getting clearer as more and more data points get added to the equation.
Eight games in isn’t necessarily enough to see full-on progress for a Gamecock offense trying to bounce back after a dismal 2019 but it has been enough for Mark Kingston to see things he likes.
“It’s an offense taking a much better brand of at-bats. We’re averaging 6.5 strikeouts a game right now, which is far below what we were last year at this point,” he said. “We’re athletic enough to steal bases and have double-digit homers. We’re hitting about .290 as a team but it could easily be higher than that based on how hard we’ve been hitting the ball. We’re not a finished product yet, but I think we’re making the kind of progress we need to be making.”
Entering the season the Gamecocks (6-2) wanted to be top half of the league in on-base percentage, OPS and runs scored and those stats are looking good early in non-conference play.
The Gamecocks are slashing .288/.415/.467 this season and are fourth in the league in on-base percentage and have a .882 OPS through eight games. The strikeout numbers are down from last year, averaging 6.6 per game compared to 7.1 walks or hit by pitches per game.
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“Our goals as a team is getting on base and scoring runs. You have to get on base to score runs and you have to score runs to win games,” Noah Campbell said. “We have a lot of stolen bases and we have a lot of things going into this. We’re not trying to hit home runs. I feel like we’ve made improvements from last year and these improvements will continue to get better through this year. I feel really confident in our offensive approach.”
It’s easier said than done entering the Clemson series this weekend, up against a Clemson pitching staff sporting a 1.23 ERA and averaging 12.8 strikeouts per game to just 4.8 walks per game.
After a rougher weekend where the Gamecocks hit .260/.384/.423 in a series loss to Northwestern, the Gamecocks will try to right the ship against Clemson
“I think the way we hit the ball isn’t really shown by the scoreboard as much. On Friday, we hit the ball really, really well and it happened to go right at guys, and today a little bit of that as well,” Andrew Eyster said after Sunday’s loss. “I mean, it doesn’t change the fact we have to do better with guys in scoring position and situational hitting. There wasn’t much of that today either.”
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Game times (TV)
Friday (Founders Park): 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Saturday (Segra Park): 3 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
Sunday (Doug Kingsmore Stadium) : 2 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
Probable pitching matchups (South Carolina listed first)
Friday: RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (1-0, 0.64 ERA) vs. LHP Sam Weatherly (1-0, 0.90 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Thomas Farr (1-0, 3.86 ERA) vs. RHP Davis Sharpe (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Sunday: RHP Brannon Jordan (1-0, 1.64 ERA) vs. RHP Spencer Strider (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Injury report
Noah Campbell took Tuesday’s 6-5 win over North Florida off after tweaking his ankle but is full go entering his third Clemson series. The junior is second on the team hitting .348 with eight RBI.
“If it was a regional, super regional or Omaha on Tuesday I would have been in the lineup," he said. "It was just an early precaution early in the season and I didn’t want to make it worse."
Third baseman Brennan Milone is still day-to-day with a hip flexor injury and LHP Will McGregor had Tommy John surgery Thursday and will miss the 2020 season.
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He said, he said
Mark Kingston on playing the neutral site game in Columbia: “I think it’s great for our city. The people here love their gamecock baseball, so to get to see two of these games here in town is great for our town. Now we know there’s Gamecock fans all over the state so we like to be able to take the show on the road too to other places. Greenville has done a nice job hosting this game. I’m sure other towns in the future will do the same as well. Obviously if we have a chance to pick we love being in our hometown.”
Noah Campbell on the Clemson series: “I feel like playing early season games in a big environment, stressful environment and fun environment prepares you for the rest of the season…If you’re going to make it to Omaha, you’re going to play in some close games. So playing against Clemson this early and before SEC play where we know we’ll have close games, it’s a good bench mark going into the rest of the season.”
Mark Kingston on the Clemson series: “We want to win it very badly, as I’m sure they do too. When all’s said and done, two years ago we lost the series and were a game from Omaha. Last year we wont the series in dominating fashion on Sunday and had a tough year the rest of the way. It’s a big series; it’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of interest and a lot of people will be watching but it doesn’t guarantee Omaha or a good season regardless of what happens.”
