Jack's takes from South Carolina's sixth straight loss on Saturday
Well, at least the regular season is now over.
South Carolina’s final six games of the year couldn’t have gone much worse. The Gamecocks, playing for a chance to solidify their postseason hopes and maybe host a regional, went 0-6 over that stretch. They concluded the regular season with a 4-1 loss in a series sweep to Tennessee on Saturday.
Here are my takes from another rough loss.
Is more offense for less defense that great?
When this experiment first started, things were going great for South Carolina. The offense was averaging more than 10 runs per game and playing great baseball. Even the defense, which had some players out of their normal positions, was doing a fine job.
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But then came this weekend in Knoxville. For an offense that had been doing so well, they only scored seven runs in the series. On Saturday, the Gamecocks were held to one run on six hits. And once again, none of them were for extra bases.
Well, the defense was fine, though, right? Wrong. Despite having no errors on Saturday, there’s a case to be made that there should’ve been. With runners on the corners and one out in the fifth, Eli Jones got a ground ball into the shift. But the ball skipped by Talmadge LeCroy’s glove to give the Vols a run.
One batter later, Billy Amick hit a high chopper to third base. It looked to be the final out of the inning, but Gavin Casas’ throw to first was off the mark. This would give Tennessee one more run.
Over the three games, South Carolina batted .198 and grounded into more double plays (4) than they had extra base hits (3).
Since Mark Kingston likes to make change and shift around the lineup, now might be a good time to do so. Something isn’t working when you aren’t getting any extra base hits or playing good defense.
Pitching did fine and should be in good shape for Hoover
Despite making some questionable pitching decisions lately, Kingston actually didn’t do too bad with his moves on Saturday. He had a system in mind and it worked out pretty well. Had the offense done some damage, maybe they would’ve won the game.
Dylan Eskew, Matthew Becker, Eli Jones and Chris Veach all pitched two innings in the game. Eskew and Veach did great, but Becker and Jones both gave up two runs. But at the same time, they both showed better stuff and looked much more in control.
So while pitching has been an issue recently, it really wasn’t the problem on Saturday. Now, South Carolina should be well equipped for however long it plays in the SEC Tournament. All four should be available to pitch in some capacity on Tuesday if needed.
I still don’t think the pitching staff is anything great. There are still a lot of issues. But I thought most of the arms who threw did fairly well this weekend. And that’s good to see.
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Another flat weekend, need to move onto what’s next
South Carolina couldn’t have picked a worse time to go on a six-game losing streak. Like I said before, the Gamecocks dropped their final six games of the regular season and will head into the postseason needing to find a spark.
Let’s be real, this was another disastrous weekend for the team. Nothing has really gone right since the Missouri series. And now, they will face Alabama on Tuesday in Hoover.
I’ll talk more about what their postseason chances are in a separate, more in depth story soon. But I can say nothing is guaranteed right now with 13 SEC wins. Sure, Kingston believes 13 wins and an RPI inside the top 30 is the precedent set for teams to get in. But is it? I mean, South Carolina hasn’t been playing good lately by any stretch.
But getting at least one win in Hoover should all but lock up a postseason spot. There’s a big difference between 14 and 13 wins. And this matchup might be a lot more favorable compared to if the Gamecocks had to play Florida.
Either way, this program’s track record in Hoover is not for the faint of heart. It’s been awhile since they’ve had success in the SEC Tournament. But maybe this will be the year something finally clicks. And this team sure needs it.
