Mark Kingston didn’t shy away from saying USC’s Sunday win was a big one. Here’s why
The series was already lost. The last three weeks have been a slog.
But when David Mendham lofted a double to the gap in Founders Park on Sunday evening, handing South Carolina baseball a 4-3 walk-off win over Mississippi State, his teammates mobbed him with all the excitement of a postseason series victory.
It’s just one win. The Gamecocks have still lost their last three conference series. But in several key respects, Sunday’s 11-inning triumph was bigger than most. Even Mark Kingston, as fond as any coach of preaching the importance of one game at a time, acknowledged it.
The unique circumstances of this 2021 season mean that because of COVID-19 protocols, the NCAA plans to release a preliminary list of 20 potential host sites for tournament regionals later this week. For teams on the edge of that hosting conversation like USC, that means extra pressure to make the first cut.
“Today was a big day. I didn’t shy away from it with our guys before the game,” Kingston said. “I didn’t say anything other than this is a big game for you. You want to be in consideration to host still, this is a game you need to win.”
Getting swept at home, even if it was at the hands of one of the nation’s best teams in Mississippi State, would hardly have been a strong final impression for the Gamecocks before the NCAA’s announcement. Already, Carolina was trending in the wrong direction in the hosting conversation after being swept by Ole Miss.
And there’s also the RPI of it all to consider. The Ratings Percentage Index, calculated using a team’s record and strength of schedule with some adjustments, is one of the more important factor the NCAA selection committee looks at, and the RPI formula weighs losses at home more heavily. Going into the weekend, the Gamecocks were at No. 15 in RPI, but with Sunday’s win they’ll rise to No. 12.
“The RPI has been the most important metric for a long, long time,” Kingston said. “And it’s hard to ignore a 12 RPI for a team that has played our schedule, which in my opinion is the hardest schedule of any team all year. If you look at high-end opponents and the volume of those high-end opponents, nobody’s played a harder schedule than us and still has a pretty damn good record that we have right now.”
Beyond hosting a regional or not, these next few weeks could go a long way in determining South Carolina’s momentum in the postseason, should that point be reached at all. At 12-12 in SEC play, the Gamecocks likely need to collect a few more wins in their final two series against Kentucky and Tennessee to feel truly comfortable about their NCAA tournament chances.
Had Sunday’s game gone the other way, USC might have needed to pull itself together in a hurry and go 3-3 down the stretch. Now, Kingston is hoping this one victory can flow into more. He’s already seen a similar scenario unfold once this season.
“The hope is it’s very similar to that Vanderbilt Sunday win,” Kingston said. “I think we won eight out of nine after that win in a row. So, baseball is a streaky game. You go through ups and downs, you have to keep fighting. We always say it’s one game at a time, go 1-0 today, but as we say, some games have a little bit more meaning off the field in terms of what they can do for a team and its mindset.”
As Kingston noted, the Gamecocks rallied back in late March to take Game 3 from Vanderbilt by one run and avoid a weekend sweep. That win helped to jump-start four consecutive series wins for USC. And Kingston wasn’t the only person to note the similarities between Sunday’s game and that Vandy contest.
“It just motivates our whole team. Like we played against Vanderbilt Sunday, that comeback win, I think it showed when we swept Florida at home,” junior pitcher Brett Kerry said. “I think it just shows obviously that this is something we need to take and build some momentum from.”
SEC play isn’t the only area where South Carolina could use some momentum. On Tuesday, the Gamecocks will travel to Clemson to complete their in-state rivalry series after one of their February games was postponed.
South Carolina has already guaranteed a series win, having taken the first two contests. But things have changed since the last meeting. The Tigers, reeling not so long ago, have recovered and played their way into the NCAA tournament conversation. They were swept this past weekend, though, by Georgia Tech, and will likely see this last meeting with USC as a valuable opportunity to notch a high-RPI victory.
The Gamecocks, meanwhile, will likely have to have a “bullpen” game on the mound, as midweek starter Jack Mahoney is reportedly out with a torn UCL. Even so, Kingston said that at this point in the season his team can’t afford to let up for even a second.
“What effect it has on the NCAA or the decision-makers about hosting an NCAA tournament, it all matters at this point,” Kingston said of the Clemson contest. “Everything matters. Every game matters, that RPI is going up and down for everybody, every day, every time you play. So you just have to try to win every game. That’s what it’s all about.”
NEXT USC BASEBALL GAME
Who: No. 19 South Carolina vs. Clemson
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Doug Kingsmore Stadium, Clemson, South Carolina
Watch: Streaming online on ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN
This story was originally published May 10, 2021 at 7:39 AM.
