USC hosts Cougars in mid-week matchup
Entering the weekend having lost two of its prior three games, many thought No. 4 South Carolina would be hard-pressed to beat Georgia in its first conference series of the season.
That proved to be true on Friday, but with bounce-back performances on Saturday and Sunday, the Gamecocks managed to get back on track and return to the winning side.
Two days after their series win, they’ll look to keep it going in a home matchup against College of Charleston.
“As far as the first-game conference jitters, it’s expected,” first baseman Christian Walker said. “SEC play is always going to be tough, no matter who you’re playing. Thankfully our pitching staff held it together and didn’t give up many runs there at all, so that kept us in the game.”
Carolina’s hitting woes that contributed to last week’s losses began to lift in the wins against Georgia but have continued to linger for preseason All-American Jackie Bradley Jr. Over the course of the three-game series, the junior outfielder went 0-11 at the plate with two strikeouts. In spite of the slump, however, coach Ray Tanner believes it’s only a matter of time before Bradley snaps out of it.
“A lot of times, when your guys aren’t getting hits or your guys aren’t making pitches, you don’t win, and we were able to win,” Tanner said. “Jackie’s going to be fine. There are a lot of outstanding players that go through some slumps. He’s having a tough time right now, but he’ll fight his way out of it.”
On the brighter side, Sunday’s 8-3 victory saw several players break out of their cold streaks, including shortstop Peter Mooney and outfielder Evan Marzilli. After going a combined 1-8 in the first two games, Mooney reached base twice in game three and finished the day with a hit and a run. Marzilli didn’t enter the game until the eighth inning, but in his only at-bat, he slapped a double into left-center field that drove in two runs.
“Nobody outworks [Marzilli], and nobody’s more dedicated than he is,” Tanner said. “He’s scuffling, and that’s hard. He’s been missing those pitches that he got a hit on [Sunday]. When you get a pitch to hit, you’ve got to hit it because you don’t always get the pitch you want. He stepped up and got a big hit, and I think that’s huge. Just one swing of the bat can change things for a player.”
Taking the mound for Carolina tonight will be right-hander Colby Holmes, who allowed one hit in 5.1 innings Wednesday against Wofford en route to earning his first win of the season. The sophomore started six games in 2010, one of which came in a 6-3 victory over the Cougars.
“I thought Colby did a super job for us early in the year as a true freshman pitching in the midweek,” Tanner said. “He was making a statement about maybe getting into the weekend at some point, and then he kind of went backwards toward the second half, but he’s more poised now. He pitched well enough [against Wofford] to get a chance to start.”
College of Charleston just missed Baseball America’s Top-25 poll after sitting at No. 20 last week but comes into Columbia more than capable of stealing a win. Although a weekend series with No. 1 Florida awaits in the near future, Tanner isn’t concerned about the Gamecocks losing their focus.
“[College of Charleston] is tremendously talented,” Tanner said. “They’re more than likely going to be a postseason team. We’re not going to focus on the weekend. We’ve got to try to get through the middle of the week here and play some good baseball. We’ll deal with the weekend on Thursday.”