Logan Chapman has continued to step up and impress during his first season at South Carolina. The continued improvements earned him the Friday night starter spot last week, and that dominant performance led him to be named the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week, as he helped the Gamecocks sweep No. 19 LSU.
This Liberty, South Carolina native only allowed two hits in a career high 6.2 innings pitched in South Carolina’s win over LSU Friday night, making him 3-0 on the season. He also tied a career high with six strikeouts against the Tigers.
Chapman came into South Carolina with much confidence in his pitching ability, but head coach Mark Kingston had both Adam Hill and Cody Morris to rely on, so the focus was on them at the beginning of the season. Despite being a freshman, he made sure that he would not be overlooked.
“I don't think we anticipated that at this point he would be our Friday night guy,” Kingston said. “We thought he was talented enough to be a weekend starter and he’s earned that with how he’s pitched over the course of the year.”
Chapman never envisioned himself being a Friday night guy, but with his competitive mindset and strike-throwing ability, he has claimed that spot.
“I definitely wanted to be in the rotation," Chapman said. "But if you would have told me that I was going to be throwing against LSU or Arkansas in the first game of the series on Friday night here in Founders Park, then I probably would have laughed.”
Kingston gives a lot of credit to pitching coach Skylar Meade for molding and shaping Chapman into the starting pitcher that he is, with a 3.29 earned-run average and 40 strikeouts in 41 innings.
“I think Skylar’s doing a really, really nice job with him in terms of bringing him along,” Kingston said. “And so if he pitches like that, he is a Friday night guy.”
Not only has Chapman made a way for himself on the field, but also he has led his team with each of his strong performances. Meade acknowledges Chapman’s ability to create a contagious atmosphere during games.
“I just think it's a credit to the kid, that’s our focus," Kingston said. "We gave him the ball because we thought he could get the job done and he did, so credit goes to the kid right there and the team played really well behind him.”
Chapman's performance against LSU this past Friday night earned him his other newest title, SEC Co-Freshman of the Week. Kingston praised Chapman’s performance on Friday, stating that he executed in his fast ball velocity and had good command.
“He also threw his off-speed pitches for strikes enough to keep them off-balance,” Kingston said. “And so I'm most proud of the fact that he went into the seventh inning, showed great poise, had a couple errors behind him that he didn’t let bother him, he got a double play after one, got the next guy out after another, so to me that’s a guy that really, really making nice progress.”
The progress that Chapman has made has been very reassuring for Kingston and his team. However, this opportunity did not come easy, and his coaches see it as evidence of his dedication to the program and his team.
“When guys run with it like that, you reward them," Kingston said. "He's pitching as well as anybody we have right now.”