C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
The Gamecocks scrimmaged just one time this week with fall break starting Thursday.
It was the crispest of any of the scrimmages I've watched this fall. The defense didn't allow an error and the pitchers followed Mark Kingston's throwing philosophy to a T: fill up the zone and move quickly.
The mostly young pitchers didn't allow many walks. I was really impressed with Ridge Chapman, Jake Wright and LT Tolbert. Chapman has shown some control of his curveball and Wright's getting better commanding the zone.
Parker Coyne, Corey Stone, Hayden Heflin and Cam Tringali also threw in what I was there to see. Wright was up to 87-89 on his fastball and Heflin hovered around the same velocity as well.
Tolbert is a guy who you'd never expect to be able to get outs consistently, but he faced the minimum again Wednesday. If I had to guess why, it'd be because the hitters are used to seeing 90 miles an hour and Tolbert differs from that so much.
He was throwing 80 today on his fastball and tossed a 61 mph curveball. If the Gamecocks are in a pinch for an inning, he could definitely help.
Jonah Bride and TJ Hopkins continue to impress with the bat. Bride had a standup double early in the scrimmage and Hopkins tripled to left-center that looked like a homer off the bat. The ball hit right at the base of the opposing bullpen.
McClendon Sears almost had another home run, going opposite field for a fly ball that died at the track.
Some notes
--Outfielder Ian Jenkins had Tommy John surgery this week after injuring his elbow. He's shown impressive power as a freshman and will now be sidelined for three to five months. He'll be able to pickup baseball activities in three months, around January, and then will likely be ready to go by the middle of the season.
Here's what Kingston had to say on it: “It’s not quite like a pitcher. Pitcher it’s about 12 to 16 months, but with him he’ll be able to start swinging the bat again in about three months and be able really able to start letting it go in about four or five.”
--The Garnet and Black World Series is next week on Wednesday and Friday, under the lights at Founders Park. Kingston told me today that first pitch is likely at 6:30 p.m.
Right now, they're not sure how teams will be split up. In the past, it's usually been picked by team captains, but the coaches could pick this year.
I asked what the prize would be for the winner and Kingston joked "pride." He's not sure if the winning team will get a dinner or pizza, etc.
It was the crispest of any of the scrimmages I've watched this fall. The defense didn't allow an error and the pitchers followed Mark Kingston's throwing philosophy to a T: fill up the zone and move quickly.
The mostly young pitchers didn't allow many walks. I was really impressed with Ridge Chapman, Jake Wright and LT Tolbert. Chapman has shown some control of his curveball and Wright's getting better commanding the zone.
Parker Coyne, Corey Stone, Hayden Heflin and Cam Tringali also threw in what I was there to see. Wright was up to 87-89 on his fastball and Heflin hovered around the same velocity as well.
Tolbert is a guy who you'd never expect to be able to get outs consistently, but he faced the minimum again Wednesday. If I had to guess why, it'd be because the hitters are used to seeing 90 miles an hour and Tolbert differs from that so much.
He was throwing 80 today on his fastball and tossed a 61 mph curveball. If the Gamecocks are in a pinch for an inning, he could definitely help.
Jonah Bride and TJ Hopkins continue to impress with the bat. Bride had a standup double early in the scrimmage and Hopkins tripled to left-center that looked like a homer off the bat. The ball hit right at the base of the opposing bullpen.
McClendon Sears almost had another home run, going opposite field for a fly ball that died at the track.
Some notes
--Outfielder Ian Jenkins had Tommy John surgery this week after injuring his elbow. He's shown impressive power as a freshman and will now be sidelined for three to five months. He'll be able to pickup baseball activities in three months, around January, and then will likely be ready to go by the middle of the season.
Here's what Kingston had to say on it: “It’s not quite like a pitcher. Pitcher it’s about 12 to 16 months, but with him he’ll be able to start swinging the bat again in about three months and be able really able to start letting it go in about four or five.”
--The Garnet and Black World Series is next week on Wednesday and Friday, under the lights at Founders Park. Kingston told me today that first pitch is likely at 6:30 p.m.
Right now, they're not sure how teams will be split up. In the past, it's usually been picked by team captains, but the coaches could pick this year.
I asked what the prize would be for the winner and Kingston joked "pride." He's not sure if the winning team will get a dinner or pizza, etc.
