Mark Kingston gives takeaways from Missouri series

Following this past weekend’s series against the Missouri Tigers, South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Mark Kingston gave his takeaways from what he saw.

Kingston emphasized that South Carolina was inconsistent at times during the series, crediting Missouri for being a tough team to compete against. However, by getting the series win, South Carolina has something to build on late in the season.

“We did a lot of things great and we struggled with some things too,” Mark Kingston said. “So, 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 can handle.”

It was a solid series win for Mark Kingston and the Gamecocks, winning both the Friday and Sunday games in fairly convincing fashion, even after falling behind by three runs on Sunday. The only loss came on Saturday.

“So, to come out of here with a series win is something we can definitely build on,” Kingston said.

South Carolina is now 13-11 in SEC play and 32-15 overall this season. That puts the Gamecocks in the middle of the pack amid the most competitive baseball conference. Still, things are tight and South Carolina is looking to make a push in the standings late. That push starts with a mid-week game against Winthrop before a weekend series against Georgia, who is tied with South Carolina in the standings.

Mark Kingston: ‘This team has a lot of heart’

One thing Mark Kingston has emphasized following the Missouri series is how much heart his team has.

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

“We did a lot of things great, 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.”