South Carolina baseball went 3-0 against Sacred Heart in its opening weekend. This marked the first series of games for new head coach Paul Mainieri, whose team has still not cracked the top 25 in any major rankings.
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Eli Jerzembeck said that’s not something the team focuses on.
“I mean we don’t care about that cause it only takes one weekend for us to go out there and slap something for that to change," Jerzembeck at the Gamecocks' first open spring practice said.
The Gamecocks opened its season against the Pioneers on Friday, with senior pitcher Dylan Eskew making the start on the mound for the Gamecocks. Eskew had nine strikeouts and three hits in five innings of work.
After a strong early start, the offensive production from the Gamecocks staggered during the middle innings, with the Pioneers tying the game up 3-3 in the sixth inning.
The bats came back in the seventh and eighth innings with RBI singles from junior infielder Henry Kaczmar and sophomore infielder Nolan Nawrocki to put the Gamecocks back out front for the win.
On Saturday, the offense told a completely different story in game two. The Gamecocks had a total of nine hits and 14 runs in its shutout win over the Pioneers. Each of those nine hits belonged to nine different players.
In addition to the solid day at the plate, the pitching staff continued to dominate, this time with senior pitcher Matthew Becker and freshman pitcher Ryder Garino. Becker started for the Gamecocks and had a total of nine strikeouts. Becker also allowed only one hit in his five innings of work. Garino finished the afternoon by adding another four strikeouts and no hits in his two innings of work.
“I mean, opening weekend nerves are high even for someone like me who’s done it for four years ... so first pitch, threw a strike, and nerves went away,” Becker said postgame.
Sunday started much slower offensively compared to Saturday, but the Gamecocks' starting pitcher once again performed well for the third day in a row. Sophomore pitcher Jake McCoy made his first start of the season and had a solid outing to close out the series.
McCoy pitched for five innings, allowing no hits or runs and striking out nine batters.
Earlier in the preseason, Mainieri said the pitching staff would not be a heavy strikeout staff, but the opening weekend told a different story. Throughout the three games, the staff seemed to all be on the same page, with the three starters each having nine strikeouts in five innings with three runs allowed and a combined four hits.
The relief pitchers contributed as well in all three games, limiting the Pioneers to only five hits and two runs scored, striking out 18 batters.
The end of last season saw some untimely injuries for a few starters, which shook around the lineup and players. Despite only being three games in, the staff decided to move around the lineups early in the season.
After getting up to a nine-run lead in game two, the Gamecocks made some switches to the lineup, which saw many new players take the field for the first time in the garnet and black.
Freshman infielder Beau Hollins and freshman catcher Gavin Braland both earned the first hits of their collegiate careers on Saturday. Senior infielder Jordan Carrion, a Florida State transfer, and junior infielder Cayden Gaskin, a Northwest Florida State College transfer, both took the field for the Gamecocks for the first time as well.
“You have a starting lineup, but then you have other guys who work just as hard as the starters do every day, and it’s a wonderful thing when you get them an opportunity to play some,” Mainieri said. “So many of those guys came off the bench and swung the bat well.”
In addition to the opportunities on the field, many new pitchers also saw their first chances to compete on the mound for the Gamecocks. After Becker’s impressive outing on Saturday, Garino finished the day with four strikeouts and no hits through two innings of work.
Sunday told a similar story with freshman pitcher Zach Russell getting his first opportunity to pitch after McCoy’s solid day. Russell faced a total of four batters, striking out all four in 1.1 innings of work.
“I couldn’t have dreamt what we saw out of those guys this weekend,” Mainieri said. “It was certainly a great way to start the season.”
What’s next?
The Gamecocks host Queens on Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. at Founders Park and then host Milwaukee for a weekend series starting Feb. 21 at 4 p.m.