Look Back,Look Ahead: Olson, Blair Show Flair; 5 Games This Week
As expected, South Carolina’s strong pitching corps performed like one of the best units in the SEC during the opening weekend of the 2017 college baseball season.
More unlikely was Danny Blair and Jacob Olson emerging as possible everyday contributors in the starting lineup.
Yet, they did.
The duo combined to hit .500 (10-for-20) with 11 total bases, four runs scored and two RBI in three games against UNC Greensboro.
They enter this week’s action as USC’s top two hitters in terms of batting average.
Blair, a sophomore from Bel Air., Md., and the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., played sparingly for the Gamecocks as a freshman in 2016, amassing just 28 at-bats in 22 games with six starts.
Blair started Games 1 and 3 against UNCG in left field, and Game 2 in center. He went 6-for-11 (.545) to lead the Gamecocks at the plate, scored a pair of runs, drove in two and stole two bases. Blair, the only Gamecock to hit safely in all three games, was 3-for-4 on Opening Day and 2-for-3 with a RBI in Saturday’s 5-1 victory.
“I got a few good swings in this weekend,” Blair said Sunday. “I felt confident coming into the season from the scrimmages. When I get it going offensively, I feel good defensively too. I’ve always been a pretty strong defensive player. I worked a lot on my offensive game this offseason. It’s good things are working both ways. Overall, I’m happy with how I played. The coaches are too. But we have a lot of good players on our team and there is a lot of competition.”
While Blair might have been a secret to many Gamecock going into the new season, pro scouts are well aware of his skills, highlighted by his blazing speed. Blair is ranked the No. 126 prospect in the nation for the 2018 MLB Draft by D1Baseball.com, putting him in the top five rounds.
The versatile and athletic Olson can play any infield position and right field. As a freshman at West Georgia Tech Junior College in 2016, he hit .351 with eight homers, conference-leading 20 doubles, 36 RBI and a .603 slugging percentage.
Against UNCG, Olson was 4-of-9 at the plate with one double, two runs scored, five total bases and a team-high .556 slugging percentage. He started two games in right and one game at first base against UNCG.
The Gamecocks are busy this week with five home games on the schedule beginning with Tuesday afternoon’s tussle with Charlotte at Founders Park.
Freshman RHP Sawyer Bridges from Summerville is scheduled to make his Gamecock mound debut against the 49ers. Bridges was rated the No. 3 best high school prospect in the state of South Carolina by Diamond Prospects, and the No. 5 prospect by Baseball America and Perfect Game.
Bridges helped lead Summerville to the Class 4A state championship, pitching a complete game 6-hitter in the title game. He was named the co-Class 4A Player of the Year by High School Sports Report. He was 8-1 as a senior and also was the starting quarterback on the football team.
NOTES:
-- Stellar Pitching: Gamecock pitchers combined to allow just three runs on 10 hits with 27 strikeouts in 27 innings of work against UNCG, who led the NCAA in hitting in 2016. The Spartans hit just .115 with a .149 slugging percentage and a .179 on-base percentage.
-- More Pitching: The three runs allowed over the weekend is the lowest three-game total for an opening weekend since the Gamecocks allowed just two runs in the 2004 opening series vs. Charleston Southern. USC’s 0.33 staff ERA after the three games is the best among all 14 SEC schools as was the pitching staff’s .115 opponents batting average.
-- Defensively, the Gamecocks committed just two errors in the three games vs. UNCG and fielded .983 for the weekend. The .983 fielding percentage is third best among SEC schools.
-- Four players debuted for the Gamecocks in the opening weekend series vs. UNCG: Olson, JUCO infielder Justin Row (Fullerton College), freshman INF/OF Carlos Cortes and freshman 1B Riley Hogan.
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
Feb. 17 vs. UNCG, W 7-1
Feb. 18 vs. UNCG, W 5-1
Feb. 19 vs. UNCG, L 1-0
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE:
Tues vs. Charlotte, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Thur. vs. Kansas State, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Fri. vs. Wright State, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Sat. vs. Wright State, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Sun. vs. Wright State, 1:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
(All times Eastern)
