The Daily Gamecock

Junior pitcher gets the nod to lead weekend rotation

With the departures of pitchers Clarke Schmidt and Wil Crowe to the 2017 MLB Draft, the weekend rotation has been the biggest question on everyone’s mind entering Opening Weekend. As scrimmages have wrapped up and baseball season is finally here, there is clarity as to who will get the ball for the first weekend. 

Junior Adam Hill will get his first shot at being the Friday night starter. Hill started his Gamecock career as a middle of the week starter, but worked his way into the rotation a few weeks into his freshman year. He took the mound on Sundays for his first two years, but feels ready to take over under the lights. 

“I’m just going out there going to pitch, I mean, it’s just a different day,” Hill said. “People say it’s different, but wherever I’m pitching for us I’m going to go out there and give it my all and just do what I’ve been doing, just try to throw strikes and get ahead of hitters and get some outs for us.” 

During his sophomore year, Hill lowered his ERA down to a 3.04 over 14 starts, allowing 29 runs on 56 hits. He walked 39 batters but struck out 87 batters during the 77 innings he pitched. 

Hill will hand the ball off to sophomore Cody Morris for the Saturday start. Morris saw playing time during his freshman year, primarily during midweek games, as he is one of the more consistent newcomers on the team. Morris finished the season with a 3.66 ERA across 10 starts. He gave up 19 runs on 27 hits over 39.1 innings of work, while walking eight and striking out 47. 

Morris was originally looked at as a potential closer, but worked hard enough during the offseason to earn a rotation spot. 

"Morris needs to look at himself like a dominator because that's how we're going to make sure he feels about himself" head coach Mark Kingston said. "He has the stuff to be an elite Saturday guy."

Morris made one weekend start last season, getting the ball for the Sunday game against Tennessee. He allowed just one run on three hits and struck out four in the Gamecocks win. That brief start and the work he's done during the preseason has given Kingston and the rest of the coaching staff the belief that he will shine in the rotation. 

The Gamecocks went with freshman Ridge Chapman for this Sunday's start against VMI. This will be Chapman's first go-around for the Gamecocks, as he's a junior college transfer from Spartanburg Methodist College. He had a 2.84 ERA with 98 strikeouts during his sophomore season there. He's shown ability and strong command on the mound that ultimately led Kingston to the decision, as he earlier said it was between him and freshman Logan Chapman for the final rotation spot. 

Although this rotation is much different than what the Gamecocks have seen in the past few years, the pitchers feel confident and are ready to take the mound this weekend. 


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