What Paul Mainieri said after South Carolina finishes off sweep of Milwaukee

Following a 14-4 run-rule victory over Milwaukee on Sunday, South Carolina head coach Paul Mainieri met with the media after the game. Below is a summary of what he had to say.

— It was good to finish off a weekend and sweep. Anytime you sweep, it’s a tremendous feeling. The guys played well all weekend.

— It was nice to see them swing the bats. It was good to get a lot of guys in the game today. Wishes he could’ve got Roman Kimball and Caleb Jones in the game if it went to the ninth.

— Took Jake McCoy out due to pitch count after the fourth. He dominated most of the way but the second inning where he gave up a three-homer was the only mistake. Probably going to need him to come back on one day’s less rest for his next start.

— How about those defensive plays in the outfield? Thought the defense played so well.

— He thought the bats have been a lot better since Winthrop. But the weather had been so cold. Today was a bit warmer and the ball carried for both teams.

— Doesn’t rule out Dylan Eskew yet. But they will give him a couple of extra days to get ready. Jackson Soucie will start on Tuesday.

— LeCroy is the number one guy. The hits haven’t fallen for him yet. It’s a tough position to play. He needed a little bit of a blow. Ryan Bakes caught today, Max Kaufer will catch on Tuesday. That’s a position you can’t have too much depth in. Happy for Bakes today with the way he hit.

— The important thing today was for the kids to take an aggressive approach and not lose their confidence. Always felt they had a good lineup and the runs would come eventually. Likes the way they’re swinging the bats. Nice to see some balls leave the park and do some baserunning. Loves the game when that’s happening.

— Henry Kaczmar has been scuffling a little bit, so he wanted him to get a day off to work more in the cages. He had a great batting practice session today. Sometimes it’s good to not have the pressure on you in the game and get some work in. The idea was also to get Will Tippett a start.

— Beau Hollins has been working so hard. If he’s going to ask him to play defense late in games, getting a chance to play a full game gets you comfortable. He has a really good future.

— In a perfect world, you’d like to have a guy who can handle the bat and hit and run as a two-hole hitter. Kaczmar was struggling in the two-hole. Dalton Mashore and Blake Jackson have done some good things there. They’re still putting thought into figuring out who the ideal two-hole hitter will be.

— With the Clemson series coming up, he didn’t have that kind of rivalry when he was at LSU. Would play Tulane in midweek games. But all ever anyone talks about is beating Clemson when he goes around town. No matter what happens next weekend, all of their goals will still be in front of them. It won’t define their season. But he doesn’t ignore the fact these are still big games. Not overlooking Gardner-Webb, though. Wants the players to treat that game like Clemson.

— The players are meeting the incredibly high expectations on defense. You can’t expect your team to pitch well if you can’t play defense. It’s been a Hallmark of most of the teams he’s coached. It’s not just one position doing well, it’s every position. All around the field, they’ve had some missed plays, though. It’s very important to him. It’s a part of every sport. Who wins championships without playing defense? It has to happen.

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