Mark Kingston: 'This team has a lot of heart'

South Carolina has been a bit of a roller coaster in SEC play this season, entering a weekend series against Mizzou one game over .500. Head coach Mark Kingston knew coming on the road and walking away with two wins would be a difficult task but the Gamecocks got the job done.

Kingston was fired up after Sunday’s win and rightfully so. Some late-inning heroics got the job done for South Carolina to steal a win away from the Tigers. He loves how hard the players are fighting on a nightly basis, with the latest example being in the series finale.

“This team has a lot of heart,” Kingston said. “This team has a lot of fight, there’s no doubt about it. I think today was another example of that.

The final score reads 9-4 favoring South Carolina but heading into the seventh inning, they were down 4-1. Three runs in the seventh tied the game before the eighth allowed the Gamecocks to take a three-run lead. Two more were plated in the ninth to all but wrap up a win.

Kingston made sure to give a special shoutout to his bullpen. Starter Dylan Eskew allowed Missouri’s four runs in just 1.1 innings pitch. From there, three different guys shut the Tigers down for the rest of the game, allowing just two hits and two runs.

“It looked bleak there a little bit late — 4-1 going into the seventh inning. We couldn’t generate anything. But once we got going, we couldn’t be stopped. It was fun to watch. Our bullpen came in and was dominant. We finally got our offense going. Very, very big win for us.”

As for the series overall, Kingston is not going to take winning on the road in the SEC lightly. Even with Missouri sitting in last place of the SEC East standings, the Tigers have the ability to beat some of the conference’s best teams.

Exactly the type of wins you want in the final stages of the regular season.

“We did a lot of things great,” Kingston said. “And we struggled with some things too. It’s another SEC weekend. Nothing in this league is easy. Including coming on the road. This is not an easy place to play, they can pitch, and they gave us everything we could handle. To come in here with a series win is something we can definitely build on.”