'That's just a bittersweet feeling': Kennedy Jones thrives at the plate in first start of the year
Up to this point, the season hadn’t gone exactly how Kennedy Jones envisioned when he initially decided to transfer to South Carolina. But when he got his first true chance to play, he took full advantage.
Jones, an outfielder originally from UNC Greensboro, made his first start of the year on Sunday for South Carolina. Hitting out of the leadoff spot, it didn’t take long for him to make an impact.
In the bottom of the first, Jones got a 2-1 pitch over the heart of the plate from Belmont left-hander Jalen Borders. As soon as the ball left his bat, he knew it wasn’t coming back. He slowly trotted down the first base as he hit his first homer as a Gamecock.
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As Jones rounded third base, he saw his teammates gather in front of the dugout, ready to greet him. This was the defining moment for him.
“I struggled a little bit through the fall and preseason, but my teammates were always there for me,” Jones said. “And so to be able to look at the dugout and see how happy they were for me, that’s all I needed to see right there. That was just a great feeling. My teammates have been behind me the whole way, so I really appreciate those guys.”
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[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Florida men’s basketball game]
When Jones crossed home plate, he threw his hands up in the air and torqued his body to the right, mimicking a pose made famous by WWE star Randy Orton.
“It was indeed,” said Jones, clarifying that was the pose he was making. “Me and the guys, we just have a thing for WWE for some reason. We’re always wrestling in the locker room. That’s just kind of our thing.”
Once he got back to the dugout, he finally got to wear the team’s shiny blue WWE belt.
“It was amazing to be able to put that belt on, like that’s just a bittersweet feeling,” Jones said.
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Jones finished the day going 2-for-4 with three RBIs in a 12-1 win over Belmont. While it’s safe to say regular starter Blake Jackson will be back in the lineup this upcoming week, it doesn’t mean Jones will go right back to the bench.
“When you play well, you play more. That’s just the way sports works,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “We thought the matchup was really good today. He’s a lifetime .400 hitter versus lefties. And we just thought with them throwing a lefty today, it was the perfect time to insert him there. We took two lefties out and put two righties in. You’ve got to explore your roster early in the season. You’ve got to explore what you have. He’s kept a very good attitude through the disappointment of not playing early. And it’s great to see when guys get rewarded for that.”
