SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASEBALL
The Gamecocks have one weekend of scrimmages in the books and this time three weeks from now they'll be finishing up their first series of the season.
After a three-inning scrimmage Sunday, Mark Kingston met with the media to discuss his team, the starting pitching competition and a few standouts from the opening weekend of scrimmages.
WHAT HE LEARNED
It's still early and there are a lot more practice time and scrimmages before the Gamecocks officially start the 2019 season but Kingston said Sunday there are the makings of a good team but still need to refine some things moving forward.
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“We have a chance to be good but still have a long way to go. We have to get better in every area of the game but saw glimpses,” he said. “We have some pieces that can really put together.”
STILL ANYONE'S RACE
Right now there's really only one guy that's solidified a starting spot in the weekend rotation, and that's Carmen Mlodzinski. Kingston said earlier this week the sophomore righty would "probably" be in line for that starting job with six other guys competing for two spots.
Dylan Harley is making a push for one of those spots but right now it's still wide open. Outside of those two John Gilreath, Reid Morgan, TJ Shook, Ridge Chapman and Hayden Lehman are competing for those starting jobs.
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“I don’t think anyone had a bad week. I think ti’s going to be close with a lot of guys trying to inch ahead,” Kingston said. “It’s still too early to say but none of them hurt themselves.”
BASERUNNING BASICS
With so much power and speed on the roster, the Gamecocks are making sure they take advantage of that while pitchers have an added emphasis on not giving up "free bases," as Kingston said.
“It’s a big part of the game," he said. "One of the big things we talk about is not giving up free bases whether that’s walks, steals, passed balls or wild pitches and trying to get those for our offense as well. Running the bases is one of those things is sometimes people don’t appreciate how important those extra 90 feet is throughout the course of the game.”
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ALLEN ASCENDING
There were a lot of standout performances from returning players, but one freshman had a solid weekend in Brady Allen.
The top 500 player coming out of high school hit a home run Friday and scored again Sunday while playing right field and first base defensively.
It's still early but Kingston leaves the first weekend impressed with the young player's abilities offensively and on the base paths with his combination of speed and power.
“He’s a good player. I’ve known he’s a good player for a couple of years now. he’s got a chance to be a big-time freshman for us,” Kingston said. “He’s a kid that loves to play and works hard.”