The ping of the bat, the gloves popping, the field being prepped — it all means the start of baseball season is right around the corner. And with the South Carolina baseball team holding its first spring practices over the weekend, the start of the season is that much closer.
There are a lot of new things fans will be looking at this season: the new head coach, new pitching coach and the new weekend rotation to name a few. Some of those questions were answered over the weekend as fans got their first real look at the team.
With Clarke Schmidt and Wil Crowe getting drafted last June, the Gamecocks weekend rotation has been a huge question mark entering the season. Adam Hill, last season's Sunday afternoon starter, looks to be the favorite to get the ball on Friday nights this year. He got the start in the first scrimmage this weekend, not allowing a hit in the few innings he threw.
The Gamecocks got good looks from some other pitchers this weekend, as just two of the nine pitchers gave up runs in Friday's scrimmage. Freshmen John Gilreath, Parker Coyne and Cam Tringali all pitched scoreless outings.
As far as hitting, the bats came alive in Saturday's scrimmage. Junior TJ Hopkins hit the first long ball of the spring with a 3-run homer over the left field bleachers. Hopkins overall had a strong day at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two runs and four RBIs.
Senior Jonah Bride also contributed greatly to Saturday's 7-7 draw, going 2-for-2 with three RBIs and scoring two runs.
The Gamecocks will continue their first weekend of scrimmages on Monday at 4 p.m. due to Sunday's game being rained out.