Gamecocks thrive on amateur baseball team
There is no English Mastiff patrolling the backyard of a house behind the Capital City Stadium fence. No former Major Leaguer who knew Babe Ruth simply as George. No shy, awkward Scotty Smalls looking to make friends any way he can.
There is none of that at “The Cap,” where the Columbia Blowfish make their home.
Instead of the boys from The Sandlot, amateur baseball players take the field to play the game of baseball, but the reason why they do it is the same. They do it for the love of the game.
“It’s a lot of fun. We all come out here and play the game we love and it’s not very high-stress,” Blowfish pitcher Josh Reagan said. “We’re all just out here playing around and doing what we like to do.”
The Columbia Blowfish are a summer league team that competes in the Coastal Plain League along with 13 other teams, which feature collegiate baseball players, many of whom searching for a proving ground where they can showcase their abilities to scouts and coaches.
Reagan, who is a rising sophomore, is one of now three South Carolina players listed on the Blowfish roster. Fellow sophomore Matt Williams and senior Kyle Martin are two other Gamecocks-turned-Blowfish.
Martin, who was drafted by the Los Angles Angels of Anaheim in the 20th round of the 2014 MLB Draft, made his first start for the Blowfish on Tuesday.
A product of Lexington High School, Reagan finds himself listed as one of the 18 native South Carolinians on the Blowfish roster.
“It’s awesome because, yes there are a lot of guys from different schools, but [there are] three guys, including me, who I played with in high school for like five or six years,” Reagan said. “So it’s like back at home when we used to play when we were little boys, so it’s awesome.”
For a pitcher who was used almost exclusively out of the bullpen for the Gamecocks last season, Reagan is using this summer to prove he can be just as effective as a starting pitcher as he was last season as a reliever.
In 14 appearances for South Carolina last season, Reagan logged a 0.36 ERA while accumulating a spotless 3-0 record.
Reagan picked up a tough-luck loss in his first start of the summer, allowing two runs in a complete game that saw him fan 10.
He was nearly perfect in his next start, pitching six innings while only giving two hits to a Peninsula team which was tied for the best record in the Coastal Plain League at the end of the first half of the season.
Finally, Reagan picked up his first win of the season against Gastonia in his third and most recent start.
He now holds a 1-1 record, while sporting a 2.14 ERA for the Blowfish this summer.
While Reagan has already made his mark on the Gamecock bullpen, Williams is still in search of playing time.
Williams, who played his high school ball at Belton-Honea Path High School, has seen time at third base as well as left field for the Blowfish.
“Summer ball is a time to find what you can do and find what you’re good at and find a way to do it,” Williams said. “Each player has that chance in summer ball. And the coaches are pretty lenient with that kind of stuff.”
His flexibility should give the Gamecocks coaching staff a little room to work with while plugging players into positions next season.
Until then, the players will continue to play the game they love to play with far less pressure than they would play under in the spring. Because for many players, summer ball is the last chance to play as an amateur—the last chance to play driven only by the love of the game that was ignited in them as kids.