Gamecocks hope to keep momentum going against Tennessee this weekend
With freshman pitcher Jordan Montgomery securing the series win in the final two innings at Vanderbilt, senior pitcher Matt Price knew that he would likely be staying in the bullpen on a more permanent basis.
“When I talked to coach (Ray Tanner), we just feel like there’s more chances for me to [get] into a game and [help] us win,” Price said. “That’s where I’m going to stay.”
Tanner opted to go with Montgomery over freshman Evan Beal for the Game 2 starter for this weekend’s series against Tennessee after Montgomery pitched two scoreless innings at Vanderbilt. He said Montgomery demonstrated a poise in the fall and felt that Beal is more suited for the bullpen. This season, Montgomery is 2-0 as a starter with a 3.27 ERA. In the win against Vanderbilt on Sunday, he allowed two hits and walked one, while striking out three.
With Beal, Tanner said that his approach is better for the bullpen because he “gets after you.” Since Price started the year in the bullpen and has experience there, Tanner said he’d like to keep him there so he can experience success in that role, as opposed to struggling as a starter. In Beal’s start against Vandy on Saturday, he lasted 3.1 innings, surrendering four runs.
Price, who, like Montgomery, is from Sumter, said he “got in his face” and told Montgomery to relax before his outing, but it was reassuring to see him step up and get the Saturday start after the last two Game 2 starters had faltered. In Forrest Koumas’ start against Florida in Game 2, he was pulled after the first because he allowed five early runs.
“It was tough, but I think we were just trying to find out who could step up and fill that role for me going back to the closer role,” Price said. “Montgomery stepped up and he’s getting the start on Saturday.”
The Gamecocks followed their first SEC series win with a win at College of Charleston, which Tanner said he hoped gave his team “more confidence and little bit of comfort.” In the win over the Cougars, Tanner was particularly happy with the team’s offense, which had been struggling.
Being tentative is what Tanner said irks him most, so he’s pleased with the hitting becoming more aggressive, especially in two-strike situations. Because the team was not being productive offensively, Tanner’s staff has been logging the at-bats and making players more aware of how they’re doing in certain scenarios at the plate to produce more quality at-bats.
“Sometimes striking out is a quality at-bat if you go six or seven pitches, or if you’re 0-2 and you get back to a full count,” Tanner said. “We try to give credit for exactly what it is. It does not mean a hit, necessarily. We’ve been a little bit better there so hopefully that will continue.”
With the SEC series win and the midweek victory, Tanner can only hope the momentum continues, as the Gamecocks are still battling from a 1-5 start to the conference season, their worst since 2003. With college athletes, Tanner
said emotion and momentum is very important, but winning the Vanderbilt series on the road “gave us a chance to exhale a little bit.”
But Tanner doesn’t want to exhale too much, as USC will need to continue to win SEC series to be in a position to go to the postseason.
“We’re having to climb,” Tanner said. “It’s going to be like that for the entire season. We’ve dug ourselves a hole and we have to try to fill it up. You’re not going to get it back real quick more than likely, so you’ve got to battle throughout. That’s what we did, and we’re going to have fight back for the entire season.”