Tanner happy with progress of freshmen through six games
When South Carolina baseball coach Ray Tanner was a player he had one outing where he didn’t play well, but his coach told him that he would play him the next game because otherwise all he would think about was the poor outing.
“The quickest way you can forget about something like that is to get back on the field,” Tanner said. Tanner took that lesson from his days as a player to heart this past weekend.
In the ninth inning of Saturday’s game against the Elon Phoenix, Tanner said freshman second baseman Connor Bright “had one go through the wickets,” allowing two runs to score and cutting the USC lead to one. USC was able to hold onto the lead and win Saturday’s game 3-2.
What Tanner had learned as a player, he taught as a coach, but as the coach, Tanner still hasn’t made a decision about who will secure the spot at second base.
“That’s one of the reasons [Bright] got the start,” Tanner said after the sweep of Elon. Tanner wanted his freshman infielder to retain his confidence and know that his coach had confidence in him.
“Just needed to go out there today and just forget about yesterday,” Bright said. “Today I felt more comfortable, and I felt more comfortable at the plate as well.”
In Bright’s start on Saturday, he had two hits, an RBI, as well as an error in the ninth. Bright had nothing more than a distant memory about Saturday’s game, playing well in the field Sunday; however, he struggled at the plate with no hits and one walk, though he scored a run on a triple by freshman outfielder Tanner English.
After losing three infielders from last season, Tanner has had to start freshmen to fill the gaps. On Sunday, he played six, including Bright and English, both South Carolina natives. Though Tanner said he doesn’t like to be reminded that he plays so many freshmen, he’s encouraged by their quick progress.
“They’re good players,” Tanner said. “They’re talented players and they’re not guys that are lucky to be on the field, they’re guys that have ability to be on the field. The key is to help them understand the game a little bit more than maybe where they were last year when they try to perform at this level. They are very capable. The more comfortable that they get, the better they’re going to play.”
Tanner said shortstop Joey Pankake, who went 2-for-4 and had three runs in Friday’s 8-1 win, is becoming more of the player that he is meant to be as he plays more games. Tanner said English was making the same sort of development.
The spotlight on the team, however, remains to the left of Pankake. While Bright started Game 2 and 3, junior college transfer Chase Vergason got the start in Game 1. Tanner said Bright has been more comfortable, while Vergason has been “antsy.”
Costen, the other candidate at second, played throughout the weekend as a designated hitter or in left field, getting the start in left field in Game 3 and pushing senior Adam Matthews out of the lineup for the day.
“We’ve got to give TJ some opportunities as well. He’s a pretty good offensive guy with great speed,” Tanner said. “We’re still going through the process to figure out exactly what we want them to do.”
Despite the uncertainty that lingers at second base, Tanner said that the six games have given his new players confidence, which will be particularly important in the next weekend series against instate rival Clemson. The Gamecocks will have to play a midweek game against Presbyterian on Tuesday night first.
“Good teams have to be able to win,” Tanner said. “At the end of the day you have to be able to win the games, despite any circumstances that you’re dealing with.”