Kingston announces rotation, updates injuries

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASEBALL

Heading into the second weekend of SEC play, the Gamecocks are sticking with some familiar faces in the weekend rotation against Tennessee.

Mark Kingston said South Carolina will stick with the same weekend rotation with Wes Sweatt and Reid Morgan starting the first two games with Sunday’s pitcher still to be announced.

The Gamecocks (15-6, 0-3 SEC) have started two separate pitchers since moving Morgan, the previous Sunday starter to Saturday with Brett Kerry (2-1, 2.89 ERA) starting two weeks ago and TJ Shook the most recent starter last weekend against Georgia.

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Shook (2-0, 2.16 ERA) looked good in his start, pitching out of a bases-loaded jam in the first and carrying a no-hitter into the fourth inning, striking out six in four shutout innings.

“He did well last week so he’ll be an option as well,” Kingston said, “but we’re going into it with the same format as last week.”

Kingston said last week entering conference play he likes having Morgan pitch on Saturday since he usually goes deep into games and gives bullpen pitchers a chance to rest between outings on Friday and Sunday.

They’ll face a Tennessee lineup slashing .277/.402/.446 and averaging 6.6 runs per game.

“They’re very scrappy but have guys that can drive the ball,” Kingston said. “It’s a much better team than what they had last year; they’re all a year older, they’ve added some nice pieces and guys have gotten better. It’s a complete team.”

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The good news for the Gamecocks offensively is they’ll get Noah Campbell back to almost full capacity against the Vols.

Campbell had missed the last two games with a shoulder injury but started Tuesday as the designated hitter, going 0-for-3 with an RBI against Furman.

He’s still not ready for the field right now coming off that injury, but should be used in the same capacity he was against the Paladins.

Kingston said the team is also monitoring closer Sawyer Bridges and how his arm feels heading into this weekend. Bridges, who gave up the go-ahead home run Sunday against Georgia, pitched Tuesday night and struck out the only batter he faced.

“Noah, in terms of hitting, I think is 100 percent. In terms of playing defense he’s not there yet. You’ll probably see similar what you saw last night (Tuesday),” Kingston said. “Sawyer, it’s just a weird thing with him. Sometimes his arm feels good and sometimes it doesn’t. He’s healthy for the most part but sometimes there’s life in the arm and sometimes there’s not. We’re going to try and figure out which days and how to use him.”

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Ridge Chapman and Carmen Mlodzinski are still out for about a month rehabbing from different injuries. Chapman is dealing with a forearm strain and the team is hopeful he’ll be able to return this season.

Mlodzinski fractured his foot against Clemson three weeks ago and is still about a month out from his full return. Since it was a foot injury, he’s been able to throw.

“Ridge, we’re hopefully we’ll get him back at some point, probably no sooner than four weeks if we do,” Kingston said. “Carmen is probably in that four to five week range. He’s healing very well at this point, quickly, and he’s keeping his arm in shape.”