Winning potentially six games in six days can be hard for a team with a healthy and deep pitching staff but it’s even harder for a team banged up by injuries.
That’s the boat the Gamecocks are in, bringing an incredibly thin and young pitching staff to Hoover knowing they need to win the entire thing if they want to keep playing into June.
“We know our pitching is going to have to give us as much as it possibly can,” Kingston said. “Every game we play might have to be three innings at a time for guys. Give us what you got, and we’ll give it to the next guy. By no means do we feel like it is 100 percent where we want it but we have a lot of pitchers anxious to take the ball and give us everything they have.”
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The Gamecocks will start freshman Cam Tringali Tuesday night in a single elimination game against LSU but after that everything is wide open.
They’ll enter this week with just 10 healthy pitchers, seven of those being bullpen arms that could see action early.
Tringali (2-4, 4.81 ERA) will be on a pitch count after throwing 96 pitches Thursday and bumping up a day in his routine to throw Tuesday night, which means there’s a strong likelihood the Gamecocks dip into their bullpen early.
It’ll be interesting to manage with South Carolina knowing Tuesday’s game is win-or-go-home but needing to save at least some semblance of a pitching staff if they make it to the double elimination section of the bracket.
“You have to kind of do a little bit of both. The only way we’re going to play in the NCAA Tournament is to win our conference tournament,” Kingston said. “That’s the number one thing on your mind. But if we don’t win game one we won’t get to play in game two. There will be a balancing act between those two factors. We’ll try to get as much as we can in that game without borrowing for next game. That’s a difficult balancing act.”
Also see: An early look at the North Carolina matchup
The Gamecocks (28-27, 8-22 SEC) enter the week on a winning streak after a 10-8 win over Mississippi State, a dramatic victory that got them into the tournament.
Now they’ll come to Hoover trying to win as many games as possible, still approaching these games as win or go home because they know if they don’t win, their season is over.
“I wouldn’t say it’s house money because we’re still going to play like we better win because our season’s over,” Kingston said. “We’ll still have an element of that. I think putting that pressure on that group will not do us any good,” “I think everybody on this team still knows it’s win or go home. They knew that Saturday at Mississippi State and we played one of our better games of the year. Sometimes with your back against the wall you preform better.”
Game time: TBD (will start after the 5:30 E.T. game)
Probable pitchers: RHP Cam Tringali (2-4, 4.81 ERA) vs. RHP Cole Henry (4-2, 3.26 ERA)
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Scouting LSU
LSU enters the week, really, with not a lot to play for. The Tigers (34-22, 17-13 SEC) are a lock for the NCAA Tournament and could likely have a top 16 wrapped up regardless of what they do in Hoover (although a win would solidify that resume).
They’re middle of the pack in hitting (.267/.355/.412) and near the bottom in pitching with a staff ERA at 4.76 and a .251 batting average against. Offensively they’re led by Josh Smith, who’s hitting .341 this year with 34 RBI. They have two double-digit home run hitters in Antoine Duplantis (1) and Daniel Cabrera (12).
South Carolina hasn’t played them this year yet but swept the series with the Tigers in Founders Park last season.
“Everything we know about them will be through scouting reports and video scouting reports,” Kingston said. “Obviously we’ve seen them a lot on TV as much as the sec network televises it. any time you win the number of games they have in the SEC, you’re a really good team. we know they’re offensive, their pitching has been a little bit uneven but when they’re on they can pitch with anybody,” “it’s LSU. They’ll have a big crowd because it’s a tournament where they do well and their fans love to come watch.”
