South Carolina treating upcoming midweek as 'seventh game in the World Series'
Midweek games are nowhere near the same as weekend series in college baseball. You never want to lose to a team you’re supposed to beat. Then again, a win over a mid-major team doesn’t tip the scales.
South Carolina has handled its business in midweek matchups so far this season, with only one loss coming to No. 21 North Carolina. But with Presbyterian on deck Tuesday (7 p.m., SECN), the Gamecocks will not be taking this game lightly, according to head coach Paul Mainieri.
“We’re going to treat Tuesday like it’s the seventh game in the World Series,” Mainieri said. “Whatever it takes to win, we need to win a baseball game. Whatever it takes. We’re not holding anything back, and we’re gonna go out there and play as hard and as well as we possibly can to attempt to win a game.”
The reason for this mindset? It comes at a time when South Carolina needs a win more than ever. The team is in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. They were just swept by No. 1 Tennessee over the weekend.
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The Gamecocks are already in a 1-8 hole through the first three series of SEC play. Midweek game or not, getting a win against the Blue Hose is of the utmost importance to Mainieri.
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“I hate losing more than anybody, believe me. It’s a very distasteful thing,” he said. “I don’t care if you’re playing the Yankees seven times in a row. Just to lose seven games in a row, it’s very discouraging when that happens. Disappointing, not discouraging, disappointing. But the important thing for us is not to get discouraged and go out there on Tuesday, play as well as we can play.”
It hasn’t been a good season thus far for Presbyterian as the Blue Hose come in under .500 at 14-15. After that, South Carolina will play four weekend series in April that are lighter in comparison to playing the top two teams in the country in consecutive weekends to close out March.
“I will say this, I’m really glad the month of March is over,” Mainieri said. “… I’m glad we don’t play (Arkansas and Tennessee) again, and not that anybody left on our schedule is going to be easy, I can assure you that.”
The Gamecocks will be on the road for three of the four weekends, facing Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Kentucky, all of whom are below .500 in conference play. Sandwiched in between, they’ll face No. 15 Ole Miss in the middle of the month at Founders Park.
