Ridge’s top: USC pitcher strong in debut as Gamecocks take Kingston’s first series

There was a point during the fall when South Carolina baseball coach Mark Kingston wasn’t quite sure Ridge Chapman, a junior college pitcher from Spartanburg Methodist, would make it.

Sunday afternoon, he got the chance to watch Chapman not only make it, but make the most of it.

“He’s a guy I’m really proud of personally, right,” Kingston said.

The junior college transfer from Spartanburg Methodist tossed five innings of one-hit ball in his Gamecocks debut, striking out six in USC’s 9-0 win to clinch a season-opening series win against VMI. He was at times “effectively wild” with four walks for the Gamecocks (2-1), but he also hit the mid-90s several times on the in-stadium radar gun (at points it erroneously read that he hit 150).

And it’s a happy conclusion after a rocky start to hit time on campus.

“He had to make some big adjustments in what it was going to take to do well at this level,” Kingston said. “Both in the classroom, both in his conditioning and his approach to the game, and he has done that big time.”

Chapman (1-0) admitted he was anxious to finally make that first start, and he cherished the moment he learned he’d be the Sunday starter. He’d struck out 98 with a 2.84 ERA in his second year of junior college.

“When all that happened in the fall, I just kind of realized,” Chapman said of the fall. “It opened my eyes a little bit. It just motivated me to get in better shape and do the right things.”

His teammates gave him some backing, starting by taking advantage of three wild pitches and a passed ball from VMI starter Brady Watts. Those plated three of USC’s first four runs.

Then the Gamecocks struck in the fourth with a four-spot, highlighted by Chris Cullen’s bomb of a three-run home run. Justin Row added his first home run of the year later on.

It made for a satisfying end to the first weekend of the 2018 season, and a satisfying moment for Kingston.

“As a coach, you love seeing kids that make that commitment get rewarded on the field,” Kingston said.

Injury update

Starting shortstop Madison Stokes tweaked his hamstring running out a run-scoring double play in the fourth inning. He left immediately, moving TJ Hopkins to short and putting Row in the game.

“We were going to be very conservative with keeping him from making it worse,” Kingston said. “He’ll be day-to-day. … My hope is he’ll be good to go on Tuesday.”

Midweek starters almost set

South Carolina could be throwing a pair of freshman starters in the midweek.

Kingston said John Gilreath, an early enrollee, and Logan Chapman should get the call in games Tuesday against North Florida and Wednesday against Winthrop.

“We need to look at it and figure out exactly which days are which,” Kingston said. “Before we solidify it, we’ll look at it one more time.

“Everybody beside the weekend starters should be fresh and ready to go.”

Gilreath allowed three hits in his four innings Friday, with four strikeouts, while Logan Chapman struck out three of the five batters he faced. The pair were part of a bullpen effort that threw 12 1/3 shutout innings across the weekend.

NEXT

What: South Carolina vs. North Florida

When: 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20

Where: Founders Park

Watch: No streaming availible

Radio: 107.5 FM in the Columbia area

This story was originally published February 18, 2018 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Ridge’s top: USC pitcher strong in debut as Gamecocks take Kingston’s first series."