PHOTOS: South Carolina kicks off baseball scrimmages
South Carolina started its preseason scrimmage slate this weekend, headlined by a few key pitchers getting back on the bump over the weekend.
The Gamecocks started their slate Friday then had two more scrimmages on Saturday and then Sunday.
GamecockCentral was there shooting both Saturday and Sunday to capture the scrimmages.
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Here are shots from both Saturday and Sunday from GamecockCentral’s Caroline Barry.
Saturday
Sunday
Now healthy, Carson Hornung, Caleb Denny will be ‘big-time’ contributors in 2023
by Collyn Taylor
South Carolina fans and coaches didn’t get to see two of the Gamecocks’ biggest pieces offensively for most of the fall.
Projected starters Carson Hornung and Caleb Denny spent the majority, if not all, of the scrimmage slate on the shelf dealing with different injuries.
Now, back healthy, their presences have been worth the wait with preseason scrimmages looming.
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“They’re right there in the running. I think most good teams have good, left-handed power,” Mark Kingston said. “And they’re two of the best along with (Gavin) Casas in terms of pure left-handed power. Unless something crazy happens you’re looking at those guys being big-time contributors.”
Hornung was the only one of the two who even got to swing a bat in the fall before a hamstring injury kept him out of the last half of scrimmages. Denny could only shag balls at the tail end after an offseason arm procedure.
Hornung comes back for his second season with the Gamecocks, ready to jump from role player to now a full-fledged, middle-of-the-order starter.
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He slashed .209/.342/.297 in 111 plate appearances last season, walking 19 times to 23 strikes. He had a pair of homers with 11 RBI. Over the summer Hornung slashed .317/.449/.504 with three homers. He walked (32) more times than he struck out (27).
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Denny is coming off a standout career at Oral Roberts, capped by his best college season yet. He hit .331/.389/.565 with double-digit homers and 57 RBI.
Exiting the fall, both were expected to contend for starting jobs. That talk hasn’t subsided through small group work this month.
“They’ve both been tremendous in the early goings. We haven’t played an intersquad scrimmage yet but we have had three pitcher-hitter matchups,” Kingston said. “Denny has three homers already just in probably 12 at-bats so far. We’re really excited about what he’s going to bring to the table.”
