For USC, one theme in late-season slate was prep for NCAA Tournament opener
When South Carolina baseball opens its NCAA Tournament on Friday against Ohio State, the Gamecocks will faceBuckeye pitcher Connor Curlis, coach Mark Kingston said Tuesday.
"The one thing we do know is they'll be throwing a left-handed pitcher at us — their best guy statistically. So we have started preparations on that, and that, obviously, will steer our lineup, if we want to tweak our lineup at all. We have a little more information on the pitcher we're going to face," Kingston said.
Curlis, a 6-foot-2 left-hander, doesn't have elite velocity, with a fastball that tops out below 90 miles per hour. However, he has racked up a 7-4 record with a 3.81 ERA this season thanks to his offspeed pitches, which he uses to keep opposing hitters off-balance.
Such pitchers have become a familiar sight for USC over the past few weeks — over the team's past 10 games, Carolina has faced seven left-handed starting pitchers, racking up a 5-2 record in that time to improve its record against such starters to 12-6 on the year.
Those matchups can be hit-or-miss for USC's lineup — against College of Charleston starter Evan Sisk, the Gamecocks had just one hit, and against Missouri lefty Tyler LaPlante, they were shut out through eight innings before a walk-off home run.
The problem, Kingston said after facing LaPlante, is simple.
"At the end of the day, guys like that, if they're on, if they have their command, if they have their control, they can put the ball where they want and change speeds, it makes it really hard," he said. "Lefties are tough to hit in general. Michael Roth won a lot of games here because guys like that are tough to hit."
But familiarity has helped, and Kingston said on 107.5 FM on Tuesday that after making several key adjustments, his hitters turned a corner against lefties toward the end of the season. That's backed up by the numbers — Arkansas' Kacey Murphy, Texas A&M's John Doxakis and Missouri's Michael Plassmeyer and TJ Sikkema have all failed to record quality outings against USC.
All of that adds up to increased confidence in Carolina's locker room that the lineup will be able to figure out Curlis.
"Recently, we've faced more (left-handers) than we've faced of anyone else. So I think that's going to play a factor, seeing them so frequently," senior second baseman Justin Row said. "I think we'll be able to see him better than we would have, maybe, earlier on in the year. Our coaches, they're going to prepare us the same way, but seeing a lot of guys like that is going to benefit us in Game 1."
If nothing else, South Carolina has inside info on Ohio State through pitching coach Skylar Meade, who spent three seasons with OSU rival Michigan State. While Meade's expertise likely will have more to do with the Buckeyes' offensive approach, Kingston said his experience will be a plus across the board.
"It's better than not. He'll be familiar with them being in the Big Ten. He's seen them, he knows what makes them tick. ... Doesn't guarantee anything, but the familiarity will help," Kingston said.
Friday schedule
South Carolina (33-24) vs. Ohio State (36-22), 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
East Carolina (43-16) vs. UNC Wilmington (37-21), 7 p.m. (WatchESPN)
Ticket info: Beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, sales open for the general public. All-session ticket books are available for $90, $72 and $60 depending on seat locations, while tickets for single sessions (games) — priced at $15, $12 and $10 — will go on sale Friday at 11 a.m. Tickets can be purchased in person or over the phone by calling (800) DIAL-ECU or (252) 737-4500 during normal business hours through Thursday.
This story was originally published May 29, 2018 at 3:44 PM with the headline "For USC, one theme in late-season slate was prep for NCAA Tournament opener."