No. 9 Gamecocks pull ace Will Sanders from rotation before Mississippi State road trip
The South Carolina baseball team has made a change to its weekend rotation — and it’s a significant one.
Ace Will Sanders won’t start at the top of the rotation in Game 1 at Mississippi State on Thursday night. Instead, right-hander Eli Jones will start in Sanders’ place, with Noah Hall and Jack Mahoney starting the subsequent two games, as usual.
The Gamecocks announced the rotation Wednesday afternoon. It wasn’t immediately known if Sanders will be available out of the bullpen in Starkville, but USC confirmed to The State that there is no injury for Sanders.
A 6-foot-6, 230-pound right-hander from Atlanta, Sanders made an immediate splash with USC his freshman year, working his way from the bullpen to the rotation. Sanders made such an impression that he was invited to pitch for Team USA’s Collegiate National Team the summer before his sophomore season.
Making 15 starts for the Gamecocks last year, Sanders led the rotation with a 3.43 ERA and 7-3 record, striking out 91 to 31 walks in 89.1 innings. However, he’s seemingly taken a step backward in his all-important junior season — a season that can determine where he lands in the MLB Draft.
Head coach Mark Kingston acknowledged Sanders was “in a little bit of a lull” last weekend after he walked six — a career high — and allowed five earned runs in 3.1 innings against visiting Missouri.
Sanders is an enticing draft prospect due to his lengthy frame, a fastball that touches the mid- to upper-90s on the radar gun and his swing-and-miss changeup and slider. A key issue for Sanders, though, has been the home run ball. Though his fastball has above-average velocity, it has been hittable when left in the middle of the strike zone. Sanders gave up 15 home runs in his 15 starts last year, and he’s already exceeding that pace with seven homers in five starts this year.
Sanders is 2-1 on the season with a 5.17 ERA — unusual numbers for a pitcher who has been steady since arriving in Columbia as a freshman.
Jones, a sophomore, will make his eighth career start for the Gamecocks after serving as a midweek starter his freshman season. The rotation switch could have as much to do with the jump Jones has taken in Year 2. He’s struck out 24 batters to four walks in 20.1 innings, going 4-0 with a 1.77 ERA. All of Jones’ innings came during midweek games until the weekend series against Missouri. Jones made two appearances in the series sweep for the Gamecocks.
USC baseball weekend schedule
Thursday: at Mississippi State, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Friday: at Mississippi State, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Saturday: at Mississippi State, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published March 29, 2023 at 5:25 PM.
