Has Kingston, South Carolina found its best lineup combination?
Mark Kingston has been blunt about it all year. He’s going to keep experimenting and tweaking until he finds the perfect combination.
But after this past weekend, he might’ve found exactly what he had been looking for. Heading into last Saturday’s game versus Kentucky, he assembled a different, unique lineup, which featured the bats that were hottest. And it worked out as the Gamecocks scored 13 runs.
The next day, he stuck with the same starting nine, only flipping some spots in the order. The result? 10 runs. All in all, at least for the time being, Kingston has found his perfect lineup.
“I would say it would be hard to argue that right now, right?” Kingston said. “And you still have a Will Tippett who’s working to get back. But it’s hard to argue with the offensive production we got this weekend.”
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Here’s what the lineup looked like in South Carolina’s 10-0 win over Kentucky to clinch a series win.
- Austin Brinling, CF
- Ethan Petry, 1B
- Parker Noland, 2B
- Cole Messina, C
- Blake Jackson, RF
- Kennedy Jones, LF
- Dalton Reeves, DH
- Talmadge LeCroy, SS
- Gavin Casas, 3B
There’s a lot of power in this lineup. But there’s also contact and speed. It’s the best of both worlds. As a result, it’s led to a lot of success.
One main issue for South Carolina this season has been hitting with runners in scoring position. For whatever reason, the bats just haven’t produced consistently when getting guys on base. However, over the last two games with this lineup, the Gamecocks were 10-for-23 (.435) with RISP and hitting .359 as a team.
“I just think we’re really picking each other up. We’re playing as a team, we’re playing as one,” said Kennedy Jones, who had eight RBIs over the weekend. “You have one bad at-bat, your brother is going to come and pick us up next at-bat. So we’re really picking each other up. We’ve always had the same approach, we’re just sticking to it and going along with the process.”
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It’s also not just the All-Americans like Ethan Petry and Cole Messina doing all the damage. It’s the entire lineup, one through nine.
“It just felt like as you get to the bottom of the lineup, some really good things can happen,” Kingston said. “(Gavin) Casas hit in the nine-hole (Sunday) and was 2-for-4 with a run on an RBI. He took some good at-bats and made all the plays defensively that I can remember.”
As the Gamecocks get closer to the postseason, finding a consistent lineup will be key. For now, they have their ideal starting nine. But that can always change.
“You want to have your best team when it matters the most, when the games decide who stays and who goes home,” Kingston said. “And so, we’ll continue to look at everything that we think might get us a little bit better and then evaluate as we go.”
