The Gamecocks will be without Adam Hill this weekend at Georgia, who getting the week off with shoulder tendinitis. Head coach Mark Kingston confirmed the news this Wednesday.
They'll instead start John Gilreath, a true freshman who enrolled early and bypassed his senior year of high school at Northwestern (S.C.) HS.
“He’s a tough kid,” Cody Morris said. “I don’t know if I could have done that being his age. He’s a tough kid, he’s got good stuff and he’s a really hard worker. I’m excited for the opportunity he’s been given. I think he’s going to do well on Friday.”
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Kingston described Hill as getting the week off, which means he'll likely be back for next weekend's series against Tennessee.
The Gamecocks now have Gilreath filling the void left by Hill, who's 2-2 this year with a 4.23 ERA while leading the team in innings (27.2) and has almost twice as many strikeouts (49) as anyone else on the team.
Gilreath is 0-0 this season with a 4.58 ERA in six appearances with two starts, including one on Sunday at Clemson.
He finished the game giving up six earned runs in 3.2 innings pitched. He's earned a reputation so far on the team as a hard worker and has impressed his teammates to date.
“He’s got a great makeup for a freshman and a freshman that should still be in high school," LT Tolbert said. "He's mature beyond his years. His changeup, you guys have all seen it, is probably one of the best changeups I’ve seen. Lefty on lefty it’s almost un-hittable.”
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With Gilreath taking the Friday night role, Morris (4-1, 3.91 ERA) stays firmly situated in his Saturday slot as to not mess with his routine.
This likely leads to Hill probably returning next week against Tennessee.
Morris dominated in his last outing, pitching 5.1 innings and striking out a career-high 10 batters en route to a 15-7 win over Florida.
While it would have been cool, he said, to get the start on a Friday night in the SEC, he's content with his spot now and it lets him stay on his arm-care schedule.
“I think it’s good for me to stay on the same schedule especially being relatively early in the year and not pushing it," he said. "It’s really just this weekend been the same as before.”
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Ridge Chapman, who started Sunday and gave up three runs in four innings, will start Sunday.
Morris said there's no real pressure from the rest of the pitching staff to go out and pitch perfect without their ace.
“I don’t think so," Morris said. "I think it’s going to be the same: go out and pitch my game.”
The Gamecocks (13-8, 1-2 SEC) open the three-game SEC series starting Friday at 7 p.m. at Georgia
