How South Carolina's Josiah Sightler turned himself into integral two-way player
Josiah Sightler still remembers his first at-bat in a preseason scrimmage at South Carolina and can laugh about it now.
Digging in to face future first-round pick Carmen Mlodzinski, Sightler got a nice wake-up call to what SEC pitching looks like and how far he had to go.
“Going out there I’m like, ‘God, I’m not even picking up the baseball.’ I couldn’t see spin and it’s the first time I faced a pitcher throwing three or four different pitches,” Sightler told GamecockCentral. “That was definitely my ‘Oh crap’ moment. The more at-bats I got the more comfortable I got.”
The highly thought of freshman with high expectations slashed a meager .067/.097/.133 with 18 strikeouts, struggling to even pick up the ball in his first college season.
But, he stuck it out and three years later will hold two vital roles for the Gamecocks in 2022. Not only will he likely start somewhere in the field—first base the likeliest—he’ll be South Carolina’s No. 3 starter opening weekend.
“He brings a lot of the attributes you want as a weekend pitcher. His stuff is good enough, he’s composed, he’s an older guy who’s been through a lot of different experiences,” Mark Kingston said. “He’s not overwhelmed. He’s athletic and can field his position. What you have is a mature lefty who has good stuff that is seasoned. Because of that, he’ll get the opportunity on Sunday.”
Even when Julian Bosnic, rehabbing a flexor strain, returns Sightler will still likely start midweeks or come out of the bullpen while serving as a lefty bat offensively.
It’s a far cry from where he was coming off a dismal 2019 season. Not only did he struggle offensively but he made one appearance on the mound, giving up three earned runs while not recording an out.
Through all of those struggles, it made him stronger and Sightler is now an integral part of this iteration of Gamecock baseball.
“Honestly I have a lot of confidence now. I feel like I went through my struggles early I could get through it now,” he said. “Then honestly now for me, it’s taking younger guys under my wing. I went through the struggles the younger guys are going through now. It’s helping those guys get through it.”
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He’s coming off the best offensive season of his career, slashing .268/.352/.437 with seven homers, but also one where he had a 4.70 ERA in 7.2 innings.
He wants to take a step forward this year offensively under South Carolina’s new hitting coach Chad Caillet. Then make an even bigger impact on the mound with new pitching coach Justin Parker.
What his role looks like once Bosnic returns might be a little fluid, but that doesn’t matter to Sightler. He’s just happy to make it out of those struggles and find a way to help out his team.
“It can get hectic at times but honestly I enjoy doing it. There are days where I’m throwing five pitches in the bullpen and next thing I know I’m in the game. I enjoy it,” Sightler said.
“Whether it’s first base, the outfield or the bullpen or starting midweeks. Just all over and doing whatever I can to help the team win.”
South Carolina begins its 2022 season hosting UNC Greensboro in a three-game series starting at 4 p.m. Friday.
