C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
--The two standouts from a pitching perspective were the first two bullpen arms in Cade Austin and Wesley Sweatt. Both looked really good in a combined three innings of work. Austin struck out three over two perfect innings and got his fastball up to 92 miles per hour with a really crisp breaking ball while Sweatt gave up a leadoff double and stolen base but struck out the next two batters with a runner at third then got a fly out to end the inning.
Austin could be someone the Gamecocks lean on as a starter while Sweatt, who’s started in the past, could start but projects as a pretty integral piece of the bullpen.
--The two starters Sunday were James Hicks and Josiah Sightler. Hicks had a rougher day, giving up six runs—three in each of his two innings—and struggle to consistently get outs. He’d give up a two-run double to Braylen Wimmer on a ball Matt Hogan overran in the outfield then gave up an RBI single to Josiah Sightler before striking out the final two batters of the inning. In the second he didn’t record an out and gave up three doubles. Sightler worked into trouble early in the first but got out of it with a strikeout swinging with a runner on third. In his second inning he gave up two walks but got a pickoff then a strikeout and caught stealing to end the inning.
Hicks was operating in the low-90s on his fastball while Sightler’s velocity was about the same from the left side. Sightler also finished with one hit, a RBI single.
--Virginia Tech transfer Kevin Madden had a solid day, rattling an opposite-field single through the right side and later came around to score then drove in two runs with an RBI double in his next plate appearance. He’d ground into a double play, though, in his last at-bat of the day. His plate approach is a good one and he’s a career .300 hitter and someone who should play a big role in the Gamecocks’ offense. He’s right now the penciled in starter at third base.
--Matt Hogan didn’t have a hit through the first two scrimmages but did have a few productive at-bats and has shown flashes. He’d move a runner over from second to third on a groundout then had a hard-hit flyout and Braylen Wimmer had to make a really good play at second to rob him of an infield hit. He did make a bad play in center, overrunning a ball to give up a double, but made a crashing play to rob Vytas Valincius of potential extra bases.
--One of the freshmen who continues to impress is Michael Braswell, who walked twice and had a RBI double. He hasn’t had a play really to make at short yet but his plate approach and ability to put the bat on the ball should make him a viable candidate to be the opening day starter at short.
--Cam Tringali had a very encouraging outing after a fall where he was up and down. He’d give up a leadoff walk but then got two groundouts and a strikeout in one scoreless inning. He was primarily in the upper-80s on his fastball, ratcheting up to 90 a few times, with a decent breaking ball that was getting over. Getting Tringali to be consistent in his ability to throw competitive strikes will certainly give them another big piece in their bullpen.
--Parker Coyne threw a scoreless inning, erasing a one-out walk with a double play, while John Gilreath gave up a walk and two hits while striking out two in one inning of work.
--The plate approach again was something that was encouraging with South Carolina balancing working counts and going to the opposite field with attacking hittable pitches early in the count. Just listening to hitting coach Chad Caillet talking during a scrimmage he seemed pleased with most of the swings hitters were putting on balls and their pitch selection.
Austin could be someone the Gamecocks lean on as a starter while Sweatt, who’s started in the past, could start but projects as a pretty integral piece of the bullpen.
--The two starters Sunday were James Hicks and Josiah Sightler. Hicks had a rougher day, giving up six runs—three in each of his two innings—and struggle to consistently get outs. He’d give up a two-run double to Braylen Wimmer on a ball Matt Hogan overran in the outfield then gave up an RBI single to Josiah Sightler before striking out the final two batters of the inning. In the second he didn’t record an out and gave up three doubles. Sightler worked into trouble early in the first but got out of it with a strikeout swinging with a runner on third. In his second inning he gave up two walks but got a pickoff then a strikeout and caught stealing to end the inning.
Hicks was operating in the low-90s on his fastball while Sightler’s velocity was about the same from the left side. Sightler also finished with one hit, a RBI single.
--Virginia Tech transfer Kevin Madden had a solid day, rattling an opposite-field single through the right side and later came around to score then drove in two runs with an RBI double in his next plate appearance. He’d ground into a double play, though, in his last at-bat of the day. His plate approach is a good one and he’s a career .300 hitter and someone who should play a big role in the Gamecocks’ offense. He’s right now the penciled in starter at third base.
--Matt Hogan didn’t have a hit through the first two scrimmages but did have a few productive at-bats and has shown flashes. He’d move a runner over from second to third on a groundout then had a hard-hit flyout and Braylen Wimmer had to make a really good play at second to rob him of an infield hit. He did make a bad play in center, overrunning a ball to give up a double, but made a crashing play to rob Vytas Valincius of potential extra bases.
--One of the freshmen who continues to impress is Michael Braswell, who walked twice and had a RBI double. He hasn’t had a play really to make at short yet but his plate approach and ability to put the bat on the ball should make him a viable candidate to be the opening day starter at short.
--Cam Tringali had a very encouraging outing after a fall where he was up and down. He’d give up a leadoff walk but then got two groundouts and a strikeout in one scoreless inning. He was primarily in the upper-80s on his fastball, ratcheting up to 90 a few times, with a decent breaking ball that was getting over. Getting Tringali to be consistent in his ability to throw competitive strikes will certainly give them another big piece in their bullpen.
--Parker Coyne threw a scoreless inning, erasing a one-out walk with a double play, while John Gilreath gave up a walk and two hits while striking out two in one inning of work.
--The plate approach again was something that was encouraging with South Carolina balancing working counts and going to the opposite field with attacking hittable pitches early in the count. Just listening to hitting coach Chad Caillet talking during a scrimmage he seemed pleased with most of the swings hitters were putting on balls and their pitch selection.
