When Adam Hill took the mound on Opening Night a few weeks ago, Gamecock fans expected a lot out of the junior who spent his first two years throwing the Sunday game. Hill didn't have his best stuff which resulted in a loss, but he was determined to not let that game get him down.
And for the past two weeks, he's been able to get back to his ace status.
During the second weekend series, Hill had what he described as "the best game I've ever thrown." Against Charleston Southern, Hill threw seven no-hit innings and did not walk a batter, while also setting a career-high 14 strikeouts. Those 14 strikeouts also set a Founders Park record, previously set by Sam Dyson in 2009 at 13 strikeouts.
Hill followed that performance with one equally as strong. Against rival Clemson, Hill once again struck out 14 batters, while giving up two runs, two hits and allowed two walks, and got the only win for South Carolina on the weekend. Hill has walked just five batters and given up seven hits and leads the team with 34 strikeouts on the season.
Hill said he's worked since Opening Weekend to fix the problems he saw in his first game and really develop into the Friday night starter that head coach Mark Kingston and the rest of the coaching staff know he can be.
"I know throwing on Friday nights, you gotta go deep into the game, gotta be efficient so that's what I've been trying to do," Hill said. "I've made some tweaks in my mechanics, I've tried to be in the zone more ... no mentality changes, mentality stays the same, just trying to attack hitters and get ahead."
After Friday's win against Clemson, Kingston could notice the improvements that Hill has been making and that he is becoming one of the top collegiate pitchers.
"Adam Hill again, was tremendous," Kingston said. "Seven innings, 14 strikeouts, two hits, he's developing into one of the top pitchers in the country."
Hill's back-to-back dominate outings led him to pick up his first honors of the season. Hill was named SEC Pitcher of the Week after his performance against Charleston Southern, and was named a National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball. He was also named the Golden Spikes Award Top Performer of the Week. Those two strong outings have left a strong impression in the minds of Gamecock fans and college baseball fans around the country.
"[He did] same thing he did last week, plus fastball, plus fastball command, the slider, he was throwing it well for strikes down and away," Kingston said. "Got ahead of hitters too, that's the key. With his stuff, if he doesn't fall behind and they can't just sit on the fastball, then he's lights out. So 28 strikeouts in 14 his last innings, it's as good as it gets."
Hill will now look to continue the strong name he has created for himself and continue to develop his role as the Friday night guy. He takes the mound again this Friday for the first game against Princeton.