Everything Paul Mainieri said after South Carolina's 12-2 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday

South Carolina head baseball coach Paul Mainieri spoke to the media following the team’s 12-2 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday. Here’s everything he had to say.

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Opening statement

“It was a great coach, Major League manager that was once asked about momentum in baseball, and his quote was legendary. He said, ‘Your momentum in baseball is as good as tomorrow’s starting pitcher.’ And I think that was pretty evident today.

“We played great these last two days. Our starting pitchers were phenomenal, gave us a chance to win. Today, we gave up seven runs in the first inning. I think we had five walks in the first inning, if I’m not mistaken. So, you dig yourself such a big hole. And when you’re facing good arms, it’s just really difficult to come back.

“Not that we swung the bats great at all today. Beau [Hollins] got into one and gave us some life, but we just couldn’t continue from there. We held them there for a while. [Matthew] Becker did a good job there for several innings, and then he got a cramp in his calf and had to come out. It probably affected the pitch he threw to [Will] Furniss, the home run.

“And then, we walked three batters in a row and looked like we might get out of it. But, after the double play, we gave up a base hit and, before you know it, the game’s out of hand. It just wasn’t our day today.”

On why Dylan Eskew ultimately did not start on the mound on Saturday

“I had to scratch him. He has a lower back problem that’s been bothering him all week. It’s been progressing, and I just felt that we couldn’t throw him out there. He just came off the oblique thing, and now, he’s got a back issue. I just felt like, if we tried to pitch him today, that he probably would not have been very effective, number one; and number two, [it] probably would’ve meant that we would be dealing with it for the remainder of the season.

“So, I had to scratch him and went to Jarvis [Evans Jr.]. And Jarvis just didn’t have it today.”

On why Parker Marlatt was brought into the game after a short warmup period in the bullpen

“He was ready. We wouldn’t bring him in unless there was an injury if he wasn’t ready. And then, he’d get all the pitches that he needs.

“They radioed down that he was ready to go. He just threw a curveball for a strike, and the kid [Austin Fawley] jumped on it and hit a grand slam.”

On Mainieri’s takeaways from earning an SEC series win

“It was good to win a series. Today was one game, but [it was] disappointing. Obviously, we’re hoping for a sweep. We’ve dug ourselves such a big hole in the league that a sweep would’ve given us a lot of hope. We still have a chance to accomplish some things. But, obviously, letting one get away from us at home like that was very disappointing today.

“I’m proud of the guys. They haven’t given up, and they won a series against a top-10 team. Two great pitching performances, we had a lot of good things happen in these last two days. I thought the crowds were fantastic all weekend; I really appreciate the support of the community and South Carolina fans. I just wish we could’ve given them a better performance today.”

On any updates regarding Henry Kaczmar’s and Gavin Braland’s injuries

“[Henry] Kaczmar, he tweaked his hamstring. I don’t know how serious it is; I haven’t seen him after the game yet. Hopefully, it’s not too bad. We’ll just have to wait and see.

“I don’t know why we’ve been having so many problems with cramps and muscle stuff. It happened early this year with Jarvis Evans pitching; and today, it was with Matthew Becker pitching. Today, Henry, when he was running out – he smashed that ball to second base – I could see something happened. So, I immediately asked him when he came to the dugout. He just said he felt something grab in his leg. I just don’t know the severity of it right now.

“And Gavin [Braland], I think it was the first inning, he took a foul tip off the knuckle in his throwing hand. We’ll just have to see. I hope it’s not a fracture, but it was sore. Again, [it was] just a precautionary thing. I took him out of the game so it wouldn’t get any worse. I’m sure he wanted to play through it. You get an adrenaline rush, that type of thing.

“But I haven’t talked to the trainer yet to get an update for you. I don’t have any updates on either one of them.”

On Matthew Becker’s performance

“Well, he came in and walked three batters, I think, in a row, if I’m not mistaken. That was kind of a rough start. But we got out of it, and he was able to hold the tide there for a while until he gave up the home run.

“He threw a lot of strikes, and we didn’t have a lot of that today. How many walks did we have today, 10? It’s hard to win when you walk 10 batters, that’s for sure. [It’s] something we didn’t do the last two days. But for a while there, Matthew threw a lot of strikes. They hit a few balls off him, but we made some plays, and they hit them right at them.

“When it rains, it pours. [Becker] gets a ground ball, and the ball gets stuck in [KJ] Scobey‘s glove. I was like, ‘Okay, it probably is a hard day today when things like that start happening.'”

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