South Carolina’s motivation this season? Prove that disappointing 2019 ‘was a fluke’
Last January at Founders Park, Mark Kingston and South Carolina baseball were riding high, hoping to parlay a Super Regional run the year before into another successful season.
This time around, the Gamecocks have a lot more to prove.
USC endured a brutal 2019, tying the program record for losses (28), finishing with the program’s fourth-worst winning percentage in more than 50 years and losing nine of 10 SEC series. Kingston, in his second season at the helm, was saddled with a rash of pitching injuries and a young squad that had lost a lot of seniors. And at one of the proudest and most competitive programs in the country, just barely reaching the SEC tournament and then missing the NCAA tourney completely wasn’t good enough.
South Carolina holds its first preseason scrimmages this weekend. Opening Day is Feb. 14 at Founders Park.
As the buildup begins for the 2020 season, Kingston and USC are once again bringing in a large crop of newcomers, a group that was rated highly by D1Baseball and Baseball America. But there’s no forgetting the disappointment of last spring.
“It’s a team that we’re encouraging to have a chip on their shoulder, we’re encouraging to play like we have something to prove,” Kingston said of this year’s squad. “And I think they’re doing that. I’ve heard from our weight room people, I’ve heard from different areas that this is very hard-working team, and I would agree with that, watching how we go about our business daily.”
What exactly do the Gamecocks have to prove, though? That they’re capable of making the NCAA tournament and avoiding the program’s first back-to-back absences since 1996-97? Or do they have to do more?
In short: What counts as progress?
“We know what the goals are of our administration, our fans, of our alumni, of our current staff and team. It’s to get to Omaha. And are we there yet? I don’t know — we’ll get on the field this year and we’ll fight our butts off to try to get there,” Kingston said. “But in terms of the inner workings of our program, the infrastructure, the culture — it’s where it needs to be. Now it’s just a matter of letting recruiting classes come in, of letting guys grow up in your program, to get back to where we need to be.
“Are we there right now? No. The peak of this program, it was back-to-back national champions and was in the championship series in year three, so are we there yet? No. Are we moving in a much-improved direction in terms of where we want to be? Yes.”
At the same time, Kingston stopped short of calling the NCAA tournament a “must” for his team, stressing that he wouldn’t be putting any extra pressure on his players.
“It’s just, we’re motivated. That’s just in our DNA. We want to go Omaha. That’s why we come here — we want to go to Omaha. I don’t think feeling or looking for or adding pressure to your team or your staff is going to benefit anybody,” Kingston said.
“Now that being said, I think you can find different motivational tactics to make sure guys stay sharp and stay as motivated as you want them to be. But pressure is what you make of it. We all want the same thing.”
The end result is that returners and newcomers alike acknowledge the failures of 2019 while also not dwelling on them too much.
“We haven’t talked much about last year. I think that’s kind of behind us. We know that was kind of a fluke, especially in terms of South Carolina baseball,” graduate transfer catcher Dallas Beaver said. “We’re really looking forward to getting out there. I think it left a bad taste in people’s mouths, but again we don’t talk about it much.”
“After last year, barely making it to the (SEC) tournament and not making a regional and everything, everyone’s expectation is to get back there,” junior outfielder Andrew Eyster said. “It starts with off a regional, goes to a super regional, and we expect to make it that far. That’s the talent this team has, and we have the locker room for it, too.”
That expectations are standard around January and February in Columbia. But after the stumbles of last season, there’s a little extra edge to them this time around.
“Coming off of last year, you’re anxious to get back out there and prove that that was a fluke. You’re always motivated. There’s little different shades of it sometimes, but you’re always motivated,” Kingston said. “But I think maybe this year, coming off of what happened last year, we’re just more anxious to get going, to get back on that field and make it right.”
USC BASEBALL SCRIMMAGES
The Gamecocks will scrimmage at Founders Park this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Times are to be announced.
GAMECOCK BASEBALL OPENING DAY
Who: South Carolina vs. Holy Cross
When: 4 p.m., Friday, Feb. 14
Where: Founders Park
Watch: TBA
Listen: 107.5 FM in Columbia area
This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 7:11 AM.
