The Gamecock baseball team finished its first two scrimmages this weekend, playing back-to-back six-inning games Saturday and Sunday as opening day inches closer.
It was the first chance for a few injured guys in the fall—Brett Kerry, Thomas Farr and Julian Bosnic most notably—to get out on the mound and get back into the flow of things.
After Sunday's scrimmage, South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston met with the media to recap what he saw and address a few things.
On figuring out the weekend pitching rotation
“I mean I think it’s pretty clear Mlodzinski will most likely be in there. I think it’s pretty clear if we feel good about the back of the bullpen Brett Kerry has a great chance to be in there. I think that third spot is up in the air with some talented guys.”
On Brett Kerry's first appearance after missing the fall
“Brett Kerry was Brett Kerry. That’s the great thing about him. It's in his DNA to throw strikes at a very high level. He missed all fall and he was out here and didn’t skip a beat. That’s very encouraging.”
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On concern about Kerry going deep into games
“He’s a guy I’m not that concerned with. Again, he’s got to prove it but he minimizes his pitches. He’s not a guy that generally has to throw 25 pitches in an inning. He’s usually in that 12-15 range. That allows him to get deeper in games. He doesn’t waste a lot of pitches and doesn’t have a lot of three-ball counts. That’s a guy that can go deep into games.”
On Julian Bosnic's first appearance after Tommy John surgery
“It’s the first time he’s been on the mound in a game situation in a long, long time and I thought he handled himself pretty well. He looks like a lefty who can help us get outs. We don’t have as many quality left-handers who are ready to help us pitch in big games yet. We’re looking for those lefties we have to step up. he looked like a guy who might be able to do that.”
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On Thomas Farr's outing and the pitching staff
“I think they’re still getting the rust off, but their stuff is really good. You see the velocity and the breaking pitches. We have three weeks to continue to get the rust off, but we saw encouraging signs.”
On what he's seen two scrimmages in
“We’re two scrimmages in but we’re seeing good talent out there. Yesterday I thought pitchers were ahead of hitters. That’s probably understandable because you had Kerry and Mlodzinski out there. Today I think hitters took a ton of good at at-bats. I’m just encouraged by the overall quality of play.”
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On what he's looking for the final few weeks
“You’re looking for overall quality of play and who gives you the best chance to win and how the pieces fit together. The pieces have to fit together. You can’t have good players that don’t fit the right position and able to spread them out on the field. You’re looking for quality of play, looking to see who’s improved from the fall, and some guys have significantly improved since the fall. We’re looking at all those things.”
