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South Carolina Baseball scrimmage two observations: Sept 24

DSC_0394by:Joe Macheca•09/24/22•

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Monte Lee talks to his batter during a fall scrimmage. (Photo: Katie Dugan - Gamecock Central)

South Carolina baseball returned to Founders Park for their second scrimmage of the fall. The Gamecocks gave their freshman a go in the shortened 3-inning scrimmage.

Here are some observations from the Saturday morning outing.

Transfers, transfers, more transfers

The transfers showed off on Saturday. Presbyterian transfer Chris Veach belted a two-run homer into the right field bullpen following a walk from catcher Johnathan French.

Veach is a South Carolina native who spent two years at Presbyterian before joining the Gamecocks this fall. He hit .344 while also coming out of the bullpen for the Blue Hoses. Veach is a dual-threat player who has clearly settled in well.

French looked right at home in his new colors after coming over from Clemson. The catcher walked and had an RBI single in his two at-bats Saturday. The exit velocity on the single was 100 miles per hour.

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Freshman get some shine

The Gamecocks started the scrimmage with two true freshmen on the bump. Right-handed pitcher Austin Williamson out of Sherrills Ford (N.C.) started the game for the Garnet and Left-handed pitcher Trey Wheeler out of Indialantic (Fla.) got the start for the Black side.

Williamson looked great in his first inning allowing one hit in his opening inning. Wheeler struggled a little bit in his first inning, allowing two base hits. He made up for it by closing the inning on a double-play ball that was hit right back to him. Wheeler made the turn to second to McGinnis who finished the 1-4-3 double play.

The second inning was where the bats came alive and both teams were able to score a few runs on the rookies. Veach’s two-run shot off of Williamson was seemingly his only blunder on the afternoon. Wheeler loaded the bases with two outs in the second and then 5th year senior David Cromer cleared the bases with a double to the wall.

Freshman infielder Ethan Petry out of Land O’Lakes (FL) also made an impact with an RBI single of his own.

Monte Lee won’t shut up

The most vocal coach out on the field Saturday was Monte Lee. The newest edition to the Gamecocks coaching staff is making his impact known. Lee chimed in on seemingly every pitch with every hitting cliche one can think of.

Hitting is one area this South Carolina ball club struggled in 2021. They ranked 13th in the SEC in batting average a season ago. If Lee can find a way to keep the bats alive throughout the 2022 campaign, this team could be scary in May.

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