South Carolina’s weekend rotation starts to come into focus
A couple weeks ago, South Carolina baseball coach Mark Kingston said he had a sense for who two of his three starting pitchers on the weekend might be.
Nothing that’s happened since has changed that — with a week before the Gamecocks open their 2020 season with a series against Holy Cross, redshirt sophomore Carmen Mlodzinski and sophomore Brett Kerry will “for sure” take the mound on Friday and Saturday, respectively, Kingston said.
Beyond that, there’s a “good chance” JUCO transfer Thomas Farr will go Sunday, Kingston said, assuming his arm continues to feel good after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. Another junior college player, Andrew Peters, is the likely choice to pitch Tuesday in a midweek game, also dependent on how his arm feels.
Farr and Peters will pitch this weekend in scrimmages and the coaching staff will see how they feel after that, Kingston said.
Mlodzinski and Kerry both pitched into the fifth inning of Friday’s scrimmage and looked sharp for the most part, only allowing a run each and consistently pitching to contact on a cold day at Founders Park.
With the starters seemingly sorted out for the most part, all that remains for the pitching staff is to determine who takes on what roles in the bullpen. Freshman Brett Thomas, senior Graham Lawson, sophomore Daniel Lloyd and JUCO transfer Brannon Jordan could all be in the mix for high-leverage innings.
SORTING OUT THE LINEUP
While the pitching rotation is starting to solidify, Kingston expressed far less certainty about his lineup. He’s praised the depth of the team’s hitters already this spring, and with only a week left in the preseason, there’s still no definite front-runner at several positions.
Specifically, while sophomore Wes Clarke and freshman Brennan Milone seem to have first and third base locked down, respectively, second base and shortstop remain in flux.
Senior George Callil, the incumbent at short, missed Friday’s scrimmage with a back issue, and in his place, freshman Braylen Wimmer continued a strong preseason.
“Braylen Wimmer’s one of our best players right now too. Don’t miss out on that. So we got a lot of good options out there,” Kingston said.
JUCO transfer Jeff Heinrich has also had a good stretch of scrimmages and played around the infield, putting himself in contention for playing time, while junior Noah Campbell, a preseason All-SEC selection, has been solid as well. Wimmer, Heinrich and Campbell could also play in the outfield if Kingston wants their bat in the lineup, and he may shuffle the infield depending on defensive needs and the pitcher on the mound.
In the outfield, junior Noah Myers is USC’s best defensive presence, while junior Andrew Eyster is the team’s top returning hitter and has continued to swing well, homering in Friday’s scrimmage. Beyond that, there’s some competition between sophomore Brady Allen, junior Anthony Amicangelo and the infielders.
SOLID BACKSTOP
One of the few position spots where there’s a solid hierarchy in Kingston’s mind is at catcher — graduate transfer Dallas Beaver is the starter, with freshman Colin Burgess as the backup. Behind them, freshman Jax Cash could step in, as could Wes Clarke and Bryant Bowen, who could also play elsewhere in the field.
That kind of depth behind the plate is something the Gamecocks didn’t have a year ago, when JUCO transfer Luke Berryhill wound up having to catch practically every game without a reliable backup. Beaver won’t have to do that this season — Kingston said Burgess is more than capable of shouldering some of the load.
“Burgess can go in there and and really catch and help us win and and do a lot of little things ... Burgess can really catch, can really throw, can really block. And he’s a tough out at the plate, so you definitely will see us not have to rely on just one guy this year,” Kingston said.
GAMECOCK BASEBALL OPENING DAY
Who: South Carolina vs. Holy Cross
When: 4 p.m., Friday, Feb. 14
Where: Founders Park
Watch: Streaming online on SEC Network Plus via WatchESPN
Listen: 107.5 FM in Columbia area
