Mark Kingston gives good news on Carson Hornung, updates Jacob Compton's status

Mark Kingston delivered some good news on one of the Gamecocks’ more impactful left-handed bats in Carson Hornung and provided an update on a few banged-up guys including Jacob Compton

Kingston said Hornung will “probably be available this weekend” after missing last week against Mississippi State.

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Hornung is dealing with a small fracture in his foot after fouling a ball off of it against The Citadel just over a week ago. 

In 59 at-bats this season Hornung is hitting .288 but is one of the team’s best in terms of on-base percentage, reaching in half of his plate appearances while slugging .508 with 17 runs driven in already. 

Last weekend he could have been available for a pinch-hit situation but Kingston said Wednesday Hornung will “hopefully” be available to be the Gamecocks’ designated hitter if needed. 

With Hornung potentially healthy, it creates a conundrum in the outfield and designated hitter spot with Dylan Brewer, Evan Stone and Ethan Petry all outfielders and playing really well at the moment. 

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“You have Hornung, you have (Caleb) Denny, you have Brewer, you have Stone and you have Petry,” Kingston said. “That’s five people for three outfield spots and a DH spots on the days where Casas is playing first and Messina is catching. There’s going to be an odd man out there. We’ll probably go with the hottest guy.”

Kingston spoke about but didn’t provide much of an update on Noah Hall (back) or Will McGillis (arm). Hall is questionable for this weekend and is still visiting with doctors to see if he’d be able to make his regularly-scheduled start in game two of the series. 

McGillis is still out for about a month dealing with that broken arm. 

But Kingston went into detail about Jacob Compton, who’s missed the entire season with a back injury and could potentially be held out to preserve his redshirt. 

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“We’re right there on the fence still with him. Because we’re at the midway point, if he plays past this point he’ll lose his redshirt. He has one year of eligibility left, as we understand it right now,” Kingston said. 

“There is an appeal or waiver process and I won’t get into the weeds on that. But as of today, he has one year of eligibility left. With us and with him there are constant conversations about should we use it this year? Should we save it for next year?”

Compton started his career in junior college before transferring to Memphis, where he spent one season.

The lefty bat hit .291/.365/.540 in 2022 with 11 home runs and 55 RBI before coming to South Carolina via the portal. 

A back injury ended his season before it could begin, and the Gamecocks are weighing whether or not to try and get him back into the lineup or keep that additional eligibility in their back pocket for 2024. 

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“At this point, if he were to come back we’d be asking him to potentially pinch-hit or maybe DH. but he hasn’t played in a long time. He’d be jumping a lot of guys who’ve earned playing time. We’re considering all those things right now,” Kingston said. 

“When push comes to shove, the best decision for him would maybe let’s not waste an entire season on pinch-hitting when you can have a whole year to get into the best shape of your life and become a real impactful hitter next year. We’re continuing to work through all those things. With additional injuries maybe you go to plan B but plan A right now is considering those things.” 

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No. 6 South Carolina hosts No. 1 LSU in a three-game series starting Thursday night at 7 p.m.

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