Play ball: South Carolina opens 2022 season Friday. How to watch, what to know
Opening Day is upon us.
Coming off a 34-23 (16-14 SEC) 2021 campaign, the South Carolina baseball team opens the 2022 season Friday at 4 p.m. with the first of three games against visiting UNC Greensboro.
Though not ranked in the D1Baseball or Baseball America preseason top 25 lists, head coach Mark Kingston and the Gamecocks have aspirations to push deeper into the postseason than they did a year ago, when they served as an unconventional regional host as a No. 2 seed.
Buoyed by the home run heroics of Wes Clarke — who tied for the national lead with 23 homers — early in the season, the Gamecocks lost their offensive rhythm late in the year, striking out too much with their power-driven mindset.
This season promises to provide changes, as team leaders Clarke, Brady Allen and Brett Kerry were among eight players to leave for professional baseball.
The coaching staff experienced its fair share of turnover as well. Former Texas A&M assistant Chad Calliet takes over as hitting coach and will try to craft a more well-rounded approach, while Indiana’s Justin Parker steps in to coach a talented pitching staff. The addition of College World Series hero Scott Wingo as a volunteer assistant is one that is sure to delight fans as well.
The Gamecocks will play 33 home games, including an intriguing non-conference series against Texas on March 11-13. The Gamecocks will also have at least nine games on the ESPN family of networks, starting with a March 6 game at rival Clemson on ACC Network. The bulk of USC’s games will stream on SEC Network Plus.
“It’s been a great, great year of sports so far watching all of our other teams,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “I’ve seen some pretty good things. Now I’m excited to get our team out there on the field and let our fans who love baseball start to support our baseball team.
“This group’s been getting after. It feels like they have a lot to prove.”
Weekend rotation shakeup
Unfortunately for the Gamecocks, the injury bug has already struck. Veteran left-hander Julian Bosnic — who spurned the MLB Draft to return to school — won’t pitch opening weekend with a flexor strain in his elbow. Kingston called the injury “nothing major” in an interview with 107.5 The Game, saying the decision to withhold Bosnic was precautionary.
Once healthy, Bosnic should slot in behind sophomore ace Will Sanders as the team’s Saturday starter. A lefty with a low- to mid-90s fastball and a power breaking ball, Bosnic was a strikeout machine with 78 in 50.2 innings last year.
Sanders, meanwhile, couldn’t have had a better freshman debut, going 6-3 with a 3.54 ERA last year while pitching in a variety of roles. Kingston and the USC staff are confident the precocious 6-foot-6 right-hander can take the next step as one of the SEC’s top pitchers. Already boasting a mid-90s fastball and a swing-and-miss changeup, Sanders said he’s worked with new pitching coach Parker on refining his slider and curveball, while also adding a two-seam fastball to the mix.
“The way I think about it is, if I could do what I did last year with two pitches, now I have five,” Sanders told The State. “And now it’s time to show everybody what I’m about.”
With Bosnic out of the mix for opening weekend, the arms behind Sanders are a little more of a mystery. The Saturday nod goes to 6-foot-2 right-hander James Hicks, a junior college transfer from Crowder College in Missouri. Kingston has talked up Hicks as weekend option throughout the offseason, and he impressed teammates throughout the team’s scrimmages. Catcher Colin Burgess said Hicks reminds him of last year’s Saturday stater Brannon Jordan, featuring a sinking fastball with good movement and a wipeout breaking ball.
The Sunday starting nod goes to two-way player Josiah Sightler, a left-handed hitter and pitcher who hasn’t seen much time on the mound in his collegiate career after he injured his shoulder at Swansea High. Initially recruited as a pitcher, Sightler said he’s excited to take the mound and that his arm feels better than it ever has. He said he touched 93 mph this offseason, a higher velocity than he hit before his shoulder injury.
New lineup, new feel
Gamecocks fans should recognize outfielder Andrew Eyster, the team’s leading hitter from a year ago, who returns for a “super senior” season after he explored his professional options this summer. Along with Sightler, Burgess and junior infielder Braylen Wimmer, Eyster provides some veteran grit in the middle of USC’s lineup.
But beyond those four, the lineup will have a different feel than the power-heavy lineup of a year ago.
“I think we’re gonna be a fast offense,” Eyster told The State. “And when I say fast, we’re going to be active on the base paths, and I think you’re gonna see us move around a lot. My goal is for us to be a well-rounded, dynamic offense where we’re hitting, we’re stealing bases, we’re bunting, we’re doing everything that a successful offense needs to do.”
Kingston and his staff addressed the team’s offensive balance on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal, adding more left-handed bats, contact-oriented hitters and speed.
Missouri first baseman/outfielder transfer Brandt Belk is the first name brought up by most Gamecocks when talking about newcomers who should make an impact. A left-handed hitter who hit .273 with the Tigers last year, Belk should slot near the top of the batting order. Virginia Tech transfer Kevin Madden also stood out at third base during team scrimmages and adds a veteran presence to the infield.
Among the freshman class, the Gamecocks have high hopes for speedy outfielder Evan Stone, whom Wingo said reminds him of himself in the aggression with which he plays. Meanwhile, freshman Michael Braswell could start right away at shortstop. And outfielder Thad Ector has a balanced left-handed swing that could earn him at-bats early on as well.
USC baseball opening weekend schedule
Friday: South Carolina vs. UNC Greensboro, 4 p.m.
Saturday: South Carolina vs. UNC Greensboro, 12:30 p.m.
Sunday: South Carolina vs. UNC Greensboro, 1:30 p.m.
Where: Founders Park in Columbia
Watch: All games streaming on SEC Network Plus
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 9:19 AM.
