Carolina aims to shed hitting woes in series with Bulldogs
After thriving at the plate through much of the first month of the season, No. 4 South Carolina came into Wednesday’s meeting with Wofford with its bats in a cold spell and in the midst of a two-game losing streak. Thanks to a 13-hit performance, however, that cold spell may be coming to an end.
Two days after a bounce-back win over the Terriers, the Gamecocks will look to keep their hitting woes behind them when they open a three-game home series with Georgia in their first conference matchup of the year.
Although the season is still young, coach Ray Tanner said he felt a sense of urgency to beat Wofford, particularly with SEC play on the horizon.
“Going into our first weekend of conference play, you want to have a little momentum and a little bit of feel-good going in,” Tanner said. “We had a good approach [against Furman]. We were prepared, we had energy and we weren’t good enough. [Daniel Stallsmith] pitched extremely well against us, and we just weren’t able to get enough going. We took a loss, bounced back and got a win.”
The 13 hits were a welcome improvement from eight- and six-hit performances against Cal State Bakersfield and Furman, respectively, but some of Carolina’s strongest bats continued to stay silent. Tanner believes part of the problem has been hitters falling behind in the count, and he took time to address it prior to Wednesday’s game.
“We showed them the counts they were hitting in, and they’re starting to try to play the numbers a little bit and give themselves a better chance to get some hits,” Tanner said. “We’ve got some pretty good players. Four or five of those guys have been quiet offensively. It’s hard to have everybody be a .300 hitter or better, but we’ve got some guys that are better than their numbers.”
Tanner also chose to adjust the lineup against Wofford, opting to move his leading hitters higher in the order.
“I was just trying to get our best guys more at-bats,” Tanner said. “You want to get those guys as many opportunities as you can. [Against Furman], the game ended with [outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr.] on deck. You’d have liked to have gotten him back up there one more time.”
One who has remained hot through the past three games is third baseman Adrian Morales. The senior managed two hits in each of USC’s back-to-back losses then sparked the offense by going 3-3 with a home run in the win over the Terriers. Particularly with others struggling, Morales’ success has proven vital in recent days.
“Morales really had a tremendous plate approach,” Tanner said. “He’ll fight you; he’ll give your team a chance to try to get a run home, whether he’s hitting four, five or six, where he’s been most of the time. We’ve got to get a couple more guys going and give us some run-scoring opportunities.”
Arguably the most noteworthy story of the month, however, has been the emergence of outfielder Jake Williams. After sitting out last season following a transfer from Wofford, Williams has asserted himself firmly in Carolina’s lineup, coming into the Georgia series batting .385 with 12 RBIs and a team-high three triples. Although missing last season was difficult for the junior, he believes the hiatus was a valuable one.
“I always say it was a good thing for me to sit,” Williams said. “In my entire life, I never really had a break from baseball, so it kind of gave me a moment to relax. It was tough watching them out in Omaha and when they were winning through the Regional and Super Regional. That was tough being one of the only ones not there, but I had some time to kind of think and discover myself again as a player. It was only a good thing sitting out.”
With the start of SEC play on Carolina’s doorstep, Williams is confident that hitting won’t prove to be a long-term issue.
“I know a few people aren’t where they’d like to be, but I think they’re still trying to have the same approach — just trying to just do the things they always do,” Williams said. “They’re going to get going. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”