C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
--The headliners of the day were righties Thomas Farr and Brannon Jordan, both of whom turned down money to come back to school and started Thursday. Farr's outing was a little more impressive from a velocity standpoint while Jordan had better results.
After pitching a perfect first, Farr worked himself into a bit of trouble giving up a one-out double to Alek Boychuk and, after a wild pitch that moved him to third, Farr walked grad transfer Joe Satterfield to put runners on the corners with two outs. He'd get out of the jam, though, striking out Jack Mahoney on a changeup to end the threat. Farr's velocity was outstanding, sitting 96 miles per hour on his fastball and throwing a changeup at 86 miles per hour with good life to it. He got a lot of swings and misses, striking out four in two innings.
Jordan didn't have the velocity Farr did, but he pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts and only one hard-hit ball. He'd strike out Noah Myers and Jeff Heinrich to start his first inning, getting Heinrich on a breaking ball, before a nice play in foul territory by David Mendham ended the inning. After a fly out to left (thanks to a nice play from freshman Josh Shuler), he'd strike out Braylen Wimmer and Colin Burgess to end the inning. Jordan was up to 93 miles per hour on his fastball with a cutter and a changeup in the mid-80s he also threw for strikes. Both guys looked like weekend arms.
--Speaking of some freshmen, Alek Boychuk looked solid offensively doubling off Farr (exit velocity of 96.4 miles per hour) but also is a really good defensive catcher. He frames pitches well, can hold runners on the bases and just has a lot of tools teams are looking for behind the plate. Colin Burgess was the same way, showing his ability to frame pitches well and doing a nice job blocking pitches in the dirt. That's one thing Boychuk can continue to work on, but the team has two good defensive catchers.
We reported this week Burgess came back to campus with added power and it showed Thursday with the catcher curling a solo homer around the left field foul pole, the first homer of the fall. Wes Clarke also hit a laser of a home run to left, 104 off the bat. Clarke also had a double into the gap in right-center at 106 miles per hour off the bat, the hardest hit ball of the day, and continues to show the power he left off last season displaying.
--The pitching staff as a whole looked really good Thursday with no one under 91 or 92 miles per hour and just three walks issued in eight innings. They'd also strike out 22 batters. It's a completely different pitching staff than in years past with most guys physically looking the part and is by far and away the most athletic pitching staff Skylar Meade's had to work with. They had three opportunities to throw runners out on slow rollers to the mound, and capitalized on all three. Two of those walks came from Satterfield, who showed the type of approach at the plate you want from a grad transfer.
--A few newcomers pitched, first CJ Weins out of Wabash Valley JUCO, who gave up one hit (a single to Connor Cino) and struck out four. He might not have overpowering velocity (was in the low-90s Thursday but has topped out as high as 94) but his delivery helps him hide the ball and he has a tremendous breaking ball to pair with it. He's a guy who will be in the mix for a starter role and, if he doesn't get it, will be a key piece at the back end of the bullpen. Freshman Cade Austin threw Thursday as well, giving up one hit in two innings of work and was up to 91 on his fastball with good secondary stuff as well.
--Two of the freshmen I left most impressed with wereBrandon Fields and David Cromer, who both impacted the game differently. Fields doubled off Brett Kerry 00 miles per hour off the bat and came around to score on a shallow Brady Allen single to left, showcasing some plus speed on the bases to beat the throw. He's also really instinctive at centerfield and has a chance to play early and often this season. Cromer had three hits in his debut, going opposite field a few times to get on base.
--Brett Kerry threw as well in the opening scrimmage, hitting a little bit of trouble in his first inning giving up three hits, two doubles, and a run but struck out two in the frame. He'd rebound with a perfect inning afterwards with two more strikeouts. He was in the low-90s on his fastball but his curveball, now at 77 miles per hour, might be his best pitch with the amount of break he's getting on it. It's definitely a plus pitch and one he'll throw a lot of this season.
--Another returner who had a really good day on the mound was Parker Coyne, who threw two perfect innings and had his fastball up to 94 miles per hour with a good curveball to pair with it. He'd strike out three but would get weak contact on the rest of his outs. Josiah Sightler also pitched, giving up two hits and a walk in two innings but striking out three. He'd get into trouble in his second inning, giving up the home run to Clarke and another runner getting on via an error, but used a 6-4-3 double play to get out of it. Cam Tringali threw two innings as well, giving up four runs on four hits and a walk in his first inning but pitched around a one-out single in his second.
--Jeff Heinrich had a nice double as well, driving in two runs, and came around to score on a Braylen Wimmer RBI single after that.
--As a team, these guys look the part in terms of being SEC players. Most everyone is over 200 pounds on the roster and they're an athletic bunch with multiple players having the ability to come in and play multiple spots. That's a good thing for South Carolina to work with.
Starting lineups
Team 1: CF, Fields; RF, Allen; 3B, Mendham; 1B, Clarke; C, Boychuk; LF, Shuler; 2B, Satterfield; SS, Mahoney; SP, Jordan
Team 2: CF, Myers; 2B, Heinrich; 3B, Milone; 1B, Sightler; SS, Wimmer; C, Burgess; RF, Cromer; LF, Cino; SP, Farr
After pitching a perfect first, Farr worked himself into a bit of trouble giving up a one-out double to Alek Boychuk and, after a wild pitch that moved him to third, Farr walked grad transfer Joe Satterfield to put runners on the corners with two outs. He'd get out of the jam, though, striking out Jack Mahoney on a changeup to end the threat. Farr's velocity was outstanding, sitting 96 miles per hour on his fastball and throwing a changeup at 86 miles per hour with good life to it. He got a lot of swings and misses, striking out four in two innings.
Jordan didn't have the velocity Farr did, but he pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts and only one hard-hit ball. He'd strike out Noah Myers and Jeff Heinrich to start his first inning, getting Heinrich on a breaking ball, before a nice play in foul territory by David Mendham ended the inning. After a fly out to left (thanks to a nice play from freshman Josh Shuler), he'd strike out Braylen Wimmer and Colin Burgess to end the inning. Jordan was up to 93 miles per hour on his fastball with a cutter and a changeup in the mid-80s he also threw for strikes. Both guys looked like weekend arms.
--Speaking of some freshmen, Alek Boychuk looked solid offensively doubling off Farr (exit velocity of 96.4 miles per hour) but also is a really good defensive catcher. He frames pitches well, can hold runners on the bases and just has a lot of tools teams are looking for behind the plate. Colin Burgess was the same way, showing his ability to frame pitches well and doing a nice job blocking pitches in the dirt. That's one thing Boychuk can continue to work on, but the team has two good defensive catchers.
We reported this week Burgess came back to campus with added power and it showed Thursday with the catcher curling a solo homer around the left field foul pole, the first homer of the fall. Wes Clarke also hit a laser of a home run to left, 104 off the bat. Clarke also had a double into the gap in right-center at 106 miles per hour off the bat, the hardest hit ball of the day, and continues to show the power he left off last season displaying.
--The pitching staff as a whole looked really good Thursday with no one under 91 or 92 miles per hour and just three walks issued in eight innings. They'd also strike out 22 batters. It's a completely different pitching staff than in years past with most guys physically looking the part and is by far and away the most athletic pitching staff Skylar Meade's had to work with. They had three opportunities to throw runners out on slow rollers to the mound, and capitalized on all three. Two of those walks came from Satterfield, who showed the type of approach at the plate you want from a grad transfer.
--A few newcomers pitched, first CJ Weins out of Wabash Valley JUCO, who gave up one hit (a single to Connor Cino) and struck out four. He might not have overpowering velocity (was in the low-90s Thursday but has topped out as high as 94) but his delivery helps him hide the ball and he has a tremendous breaking ball to pair with it. He's a guy who will be in the mix for a starter role and, if he doesn't get it, will be a key piece at the back end of the bullpen. Freshman Cade Austin threw Thursday as well, giving up one hit in two innings of work and was up to 91 on his fastball with good secondary stuff as well.
--Two of the freshmen I left most impressed with wereBrandon Fields and David Cromer, who both impacted the game differently. Fields doubled off Brett Kerry 00 miles per hour off the bat and came around to score on a shallow Brady Allen single to left, showcasing some plus speed on the bases to beat the throw. He's also really instinctive at centerfield and has a chance to play early and often this season. Cromer had three hits in his debut, going opposite field a few times to get on base.
--Brett Kerry threw as well in the opening scrimmage, hitting a little bit of trouble in his first inning giving up three hits, two doubles, and a run but struck out two in the frame. He'd rebound with a perfect inning afterwards with two more strikeouts. He was in the low-90s on his fastball but his curveball, now at 77 miles per hour, might be his best pitch with the amount of break he's getting on it. It's definitely a plus pitch and one he'll throw a lot of this season.
--Another returner who had a really good day on the mound was Parker Coyne, who threw two perfect innings and had his fastball up to 94 miles per hour with a good curveball to pair with it. He'd strike out three but would get weak contact on the rest of his outs. Josiah Sightler also pitched, giving up two hits and a walk in two innings but striking out three. He'd get into trouble in his second inning, giving up the home run to Clarke and another runner getting on via an error, but used a 6-4-3 double play to get out of it. Cam Tringali threw two innings as well, giving up four runs on four hits and a walk in his first inning but pitched around a one-out single in his second.
--Jeff Heinrich had a nice double as well, driving in two runs, and came around to score on a Braylen Wimmer RBI single after that.
--As a team, these guys look the part in terms of being SEC players. Most everyone is over 200 pounds on the roster and they're an athletic bunch with multiple players having the ability to come in and play multiple spots. That's a good thing for South Carolina to work with.
Starting lineups
Team 1: CF, Fields; RF, Allen; 3B, Mendham; 1B, Clarke; C, Boychuk; LF, Shuler; 2B, Satterfield; SS, Mahoney; SP, Jordan
Team 2: CF, Myers; 2B, Heinrich; 3B, Milone; 1B, Sightler; SS, Wimmer; C, Burgess; RF, Cromer; LF, Cino; SP, Farr
