3 things we learned from South Carolina’s season-opening sweep of UMass Lowell
The South Carolina baseball team couldn’t have gotten off to a better start on Opening Weekend.
Though visiting UMass Lowell is by no means elite competition, the No. 23 Gamecocks excelled on the mound, at the plate and in the field, completing a three-game sweep against the River Hawks on Sunday at Founders Park.
Here’s what we learned about the Gamecocks (3-0) during the series.
The pitching staff is as electric as advertised
Head coach Mark Kingston has raved about the depth of his pitching staff, which is back to near full health after losing several key arms to injury last year.
For the most part, those pitchers lived up to their billing this weekend. In three games, the USC pitching staff combined to allow just four runs, and pitching coach Justin Parker was able to trot out arm after arm with mid-90s fastballs.
All three starters — Will Sanders, Noah Hall and Jack Mahoney — showed above-average stuff against the River Hawks, with Mahoney touching 96 mph in his first outing since Tommy John surgery in 2021.
Right-hander James Hicks also pitched well in relief of Sanders on Friday, earning the win with two scoreless innings after Tommy John surgery ended his season last year.
The Gamecocks have more depth at their disposal. Top freshman Eli Jerzembeck, the son of a former big-leaguer, has yet to make his debut and was described as “a weapon” by Kingston before the season.
Transfer hitters show power, but will it last?
Adding power, especially from the left-handed side of the plate, was a top priority for Kingston and his coaching staff this offseason as they worked the transfer portal.
Those portal additions paid immediate dividends on Opening Weekend, though it’s far too early to get excited. The Gamecocks started off hot offensively last season, too, before slowing down once they rolled into the high-powered arms in SEC play.
Still, the early returns are promising for transfers like Gavin Casas (Vanderbilt), Caleb Denny (Oral Roberts) and Will McGillis (Southern Miss). Both Casas and McGillis homered three times apiece during the weekend, with McGillis hitting two homers in the season opener and Casas slugging two in the series finale. Denny, a polished left-handed hitter, also homered and picked up six hits and six RBIs on the weekend.
The Gamecocks (3-0) outscored UMass Lowell 49-5 across the three games.
Braylen Wimmer seizes shortstop role
The senior Wimmer had a somewhat disappointing season — by his standards — last year, slipping all the way to the 18th round of the pro draft after going into his junior season with some hype.
Wimmer didn’t show the kind of power he had flashed the year before, and he couldn’t find a home defensively — playing a variety of positions for the Gamecocks.
Before the season, Wimmer said he was too focused on the MLB Draft last year and wasn’t playing enough for “the love of the game.” If the first weekend is any indication, Wimmer could be in line for a big year.
Wimmer usurped talented sophomore Michael Braswell for the starting shortstop role after a strong fall and spring, and the right-handed hitter also opened the season locked in at the plate. Wimmer hit 5-for-5 in Game 1 with a homer, hit a grand slam in the win on Saturday and drove in the game’s first run with a two-out single on Sunday, fueling the USC offense in all three games.
This story was originally published February 20, 2023 at 7:33 AM.
