When freshman outfielder Ethan Petry started with the Gamecocks, he was struggling to keep up with preseason practice, but now he is winning multiple awards, leading the team's starters in batting average and providing a spark to South Carolina's lineup.
Originally from Land O’Lakes, Florida, Petry was ranked as the eighth-best high school recruit in the state of Florida by Perfect Game. Petry was recruited as a third baseman, but has since moved to the outfield as head coach Mark Kingston said it gives his lineup experience and speed.
"Ethan is learning the outfield at this point," Kingston said. "When a ball goes to right field, we have a lot of confidence that Ethan will make the play, and I think he'll only get better as the year goes on."
Despite this positional change, Petry said that he is “pretty comfortable” in the outfield.
“I’m working on it,” Petry said. “I’m trying my best. I’m very new to it, and I’m working my tail off to get better.”
Petry is batting .449 and has collected multiple awards throughout the season, including SEC Freshman of the Week for three consecutive weeks, SEC Player of the Week and D1Baseball’s Midseason Freshman of the Year. He was also named to USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List.
Despite Petry’s current success, his experiences have not always been positive. Petry said he felt like he got “hit by a truck” during this year's preseason practices.
“I couldn’t buy a hit,” Petry said. “I worked with Monte, I worked with (director of player development Mike) Current, (assistant coach Scott) Wingo (and) Kingston. We all figured out what was wrong, and it was just all mental. And mentally I became stronger.”
Kingston said Petry’s turnaround from preseason practices was as if "a light went on for him”. Kingston said he could see a difference by looking at his swings in the batting cages and during batting practice.
“(When) you look at the data, sometimes you just trust your eyes, and the eyes were just saying, ‘Something’s happening here,” Kingston said. “(Petry's) a great player. He works extremely hard. He’s a big-time team guy, (and) he just wants to win.”
Junior pitcher Jack Mahoney said that he was easily able to get Petry out during fall and spring practices with high fastballs. However, Petry has made adjustments since then and is connecting with more fastballs, hitting 15 home runs this season and leading the team’s starters in batting average.
“(As a freshman), you have to get your butt kicked here before you have any success,” Mahoney said. “That’s just part of playing here and part of playing in this unreal conference.”
The Gamecocks are coming off a midweek game against USC Upstate, where Petry went 3-5 with a home run and a double, in a 7-2 win.
Petry will look to continue his successful freshman campaign this weekend in a three-game series against No. 4 Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, for the Gamecocks' second Top 10 matchup. The series starts on Friday, April 14, and each game will be available to stream on SEC Network+.