‘A long time coming:’ USC baseball eager to play after last season’s abrupt ending
Last March, South Carolina junior pitcher Thomas Farr knew something was off when he heard from one of his friends on the Tennessee baseball team.
The COVID-19 pandemic was only just starting to grip the nation, and Farr and the Gamecocks were still scheduled to open conference play at home against the Volunteers on March 13.
But before the Vols could fly into Columbia, Farr received an eyebrow-raising message.
“The coach told them to get off the plane,” Farr recalled during Thursday’s baseball news conference. “And it started out as, ‘We’re not playing this week.’ And that turned into, ‘We’re not playing in two weeks.’ And then it was, ‘We’re not having a season at all.’ And that happened all in like maybe 36 hours.”
The Gamecocks finished the shortened season with a 12-4 record.
“There was really a lot of shock, honestly, because we knew COVID was a thing, but we didn’t know it would turn into what it actually turned into,” Farr said.
COVID-19, clearly, has not gone away. Challenges and unknowns remain for every college sports team. USC football made it through the season relatively unscathed from a coronavirus standpoint, while Frank Martin’s basketball team has shut down three separate times due to the virus.
But the uneasiness of last March has largely subsided for this Gamecocks baseball team, which ranks 18th in the country in D1 Baseball’s preseason poll. The first official team practice and preseason scrimmage are Friday. Opening Day tentatively is set for Feb. 19.
More than anything, the Gamecocks are eager to get back on the field.
“It’s been a long time coming,” senior outfielder Andrew Eyster said Thursday. “It’s been 10 months since we got to play, and things are looking good. Things are looking up, and everyone’s excited to finally, hopefully, get a full season in. Everyone’s pumped. I’m pumped.”
Both Farr and Eyster reflected on the strangeness of the offseason. The 2020 MLB Draft shortened from 40 rounds to just five, severely limiting the professional options for USC’s veterans. And with prestigious summer leagues like the Cape Cod League canceling play, only a handful of players were still able to play summer ball — a few for the nearby Lexington County Blowfish.
“It was a really weird time,” Farr said. “You kind of wanted to be in shape — but also you didn’t want to be in shape if you didn’t need to. So it was a weird time, but I’m glad it’s over, and I’m just hoping this season we can kind of kick it off and not have any hiccups.”
As other sports at both USC and colleges around the country have shown, hiccups can come at any time. The Gamecocks had intended to release their full 2021 schedule Thursday, but head coach Mark Kingston said abrupt cancellations have forced the team to adjust that plan.
“You have a schedule today, and you find out tomorrow it’s different,” Kingston said Thursday. “We’ve had what we thought was a really strong, full schedule here for a little while. And then within the last 10 days we’ve had a number of games canceled for a variety of reasons, whether it’s conferences aren’t allowing midweek games for certain teams you play, or teams just can’t afford it anymore (because) they had budget cuts. There’s just a lot of moving parts.”
COVID-19 has touched the baseball team in other, more direct ways, as both Farr and Eyster said teammates have tested positive for the virus over the last few months. In an attempt to encourage distancing, the Gamecocks have split into two different locker rooms and plan to space out in the dugout this season.
Those safety protocols make team camaraderie and off-the-field bonding more of a challenge. Kingston said he typically hosts a Super Bowl party for his players at his house, but that plan is on hold — so too are the paintball games that the Gamecocks routinely organize.
Players have found other ways to connect. Farr said a common team activity this offseason has been playing multiplayer video games like “Call of Duty: Warzone” and “Rocket League.”
Still, those interactions aren’t quite the same.
“That’s definitely the most difficult part is getting to really know guys,” Eyster said. “Especially the beginning of fall, it was a couple weeks before I even met everyone and got to introduce myself.
“And so that’s been the most difficult part, especially outside the field. I’m one of the guys who still hasn’t gotten (COVID-19) yet, and I kind of have to limit myself on what I’m doing.”
With that said, both Farr and Eyster said the sacrifices and protocols are worth it just to be able to play. The overall mood of the team heading into the season is a positive one.
“I think this has made everybody more hungry to play — players, coaches,” Kingston said. “You just have a great appreciation for being out there on the field. You really do. So we don’t take it for granted.
“I don’t think we ever took it for granted, but now more than ever, you just really appreciate everything that this is all about. The relationships, the camaraderie, helping guys grow up, the competition — you’re all in on all those factors now.”
USC baseball scrimmages are closed
All of South Carolina’s 2021 preseason scrimmages will be closed to the public due to COVID-19 regulations.
A limited capacity is planned at Founders Park this spring. No more than 2,100 fans will be allowed in the stands per game, 25.4% capacity of the stadium’s usual 8,242-person capacity.
