Carolina improves to 6-0 after three-game series against SIU
John Taylor's opportunity was fading.
After a slow start to the 2010 season, the junior college transfer was in danger of losing his chance to contribute out of South Carolina's bullpen.
"I had a talk with [coach Ray Tanner] and he actually said he was considering cutting me," Taylor said. "I don't know if that was a joke, but he said he decided to keep me."
A year later, things couldn't be more different. Appearing in all three games against Southern Illinois, Taylor worked four innings of relief, allowed no runs and struck out eight as the Gamecocks earned their second sweep of the season, culminated in a 9-4 victory Sunday.
"I was extremely happy with our weekend and being able to get all six games that we've played against quality opponents," Tanner said. "John Taylor was outstanding. We needed him to be good today and he was."
Carolina jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the series finale, powered by a pair of two-run home runs from outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and third baseman Adrian Morales. In the fifth, however, the SIU bats came to life, putting an end to a nearly flawless start for starting pitcher Adam Westmoreland.
After a lead-off home run from outfielder Jordan Sivertsen, the Salukis loaded the bases on a double and a pair of walks and again on an RBI sacrifice fly that ended Westmoreland's day. Pitching coach Jerry Meyers brought in left-hander Steven Neff to shut down the rally, but after a walk and a hit-batter allowed another run with the bases still loaded, the call was made for Taylor to come to the rescue.
The senior was quick to rise to the occasion. Following a sacrifice fly to center that resulted in an impressive catch from Bradley at the warning track, Taylor forced a groundout to shortstop, getting out of the inning with a 6-4 lead. From there, the Florence native was in total control, striking out the side in the sixth before blanking two more in the seventh.
"He's pitched really well in the early goings," Tanner said. "He's kind of like the hot hand guy. He's been able to locate, move the ball in and out, get a groundball — he needed a big play today from Jackie, but he threw strikes. He threw it in there and ended up with five punch-outs today. He's been really good for us."
On the other side of the ball, Carolina's hitters backed up Taylor's performance with a trio of runs in the fifth and sixth. Shortstop Peter Mooney drove in his second run of the day with a double to center field, while first baseman Christian Walker added his seventh and eighth RBI of the season with a single up the middle, securing the 9-4 victory.
"It's great to have this momentum," Walker said. "In this game, you need all the momentum you can get. The pitchers are throwing great and the hitters are swinging the bat. Everything's working out for us exactly as we wanted."
Taylor provided a similar performance in Saturday's matchup. After junior Bryan Harper allowed a lead-off single in the ninth, the senior entered the game faced with protecting Carolina's 4-0 lead. As was the case on Sunday, Taylor struck out the side, closing out the Gamecocks' fifth straight win.
"It's a lot different," Taylor said of this year's start. "It probably took me half of the season last year to get completely confident. This year I know what it's like. That experience really does help. It feels good to have success at the beginning of the season."
Taylor made his shortest appearance of the weekend in Friday's 10-6 victory, throwing one-third of an inning late in the game.
Carolina jumped out to an early 10-0 lead behind a seven-run first, but after SIU strung together some hits in the eighth that cut the lead to 10-4, the senior entered the game with one out and the bases loaded. Taylor forced a groundout to shortstop, allowing one run to cross. USC then relieved him for left-hander Logan Munson, who forced a strikeout a play later.
Although he had no serious expectations for the first few weeks, Tanner said continued success from Taylor will be crucial to Carolina's fortunes later on.
"Going into the season, the thing I felt like was a constant is that [relief pitcher Jose Mata] and Taylor have got to go out there 25 or 30 times a piece," Tanner said. "That seems to be part of our formula based on what happened last year."