Three things we learned from South Carolina baseball’s series with No. 2 Arkansas
Facing one of the top teams in the country, South Carolina coach Mark Kingston liked what he saw following the three-game series against No. 2 Arkansas.
After dropping the opener on Friday, USC used a big sixth inning and held on to win 6-3 in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday. The Gamecocks fell behind big in the nightcap before a late rally fell just short, 9-6.
Here are three things that stood out from No. 20 Gamecocks’ series against the No. 2 Razorbacks
Kingston: We are close
Following Saturday’s second game, Kingston talked about the Gamecocks being right there from being one of those top teams in the country.
The Gamecocks had a chance in Friday’s 2-1 loss going against future first-round draft pick Hagen Smith. In the doubleheader, USC showed toughness, nearly blowing a 6-1 lead in the opener to hold on as Connor McCreary shut things down when the Razorbacks had bases loaded in the ninth.
In the nightcap, USC made too many mistakes, especially in the second inning, as Arkansas jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Still, there were chances late to almost pull out a come-from-behind win.
“I don’t know how you can play any closer than that. Eighteen innings, today both teams scored 12 runs and we did a lot of good things against the No. 2-ranked team in the country,” Kingston said. “We are disappointed we didn’t win the series. I think it shows how close we are. That is my message to the team. We are close. These top-five teams we are playing, we got to keep working to get over that hump so we are a top-five team.”
Brinling a bright spot for the Gamecocks
Austin Brinling’s season hasn’t gone as planned, but this weekend might be a step in the right direction.
Brinling transferred to USC this year as a grad transfer and had been an all-conference performer at North Florida. But Kingston said Brinling had a hitch in his swing that caused him to fall down on the depth chart. Prior to this weekend’s series, Brinling had just one at-bat.
Kingston then informed Brinling he was going to be in the starting lineup in place of Dylan Brewer, and Brinling started all three games against the Razorbacks.
“I give him so much credit,” Kingston said of Brinling. “He had a hitch in his swing that didn’t allow him to hit this level of pitching, but he has been working hard and he has given us great at-bats.
“I always keep an open mind of players this age because you never know when one adjustment can get a guy going and turn his whole season around.”
Brinling went 4 for 10 with a pair of RBIs in the three games and got that confidence he displayed at North Florida back. Last year at UNF, he hit .386 with 18 doubles, 31 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.
“I felt like I had nothing to lose,” Brinling said. “... I got off to a really slow start hitting the ball and mentally I just wasn’t there. But getting that first hit of the game Friday really boosted my confidence. It just went from there.”
Eskew shines in return to weekend rotation
It had been almost a month since Dylan Eskew had started a game on the weekend for the Gamecocks.
But the right-hander made his return to the weekend rotation and started the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. While Eskew took the loss, there were a lot of positive things to take from his 5.2 innings of work, his longest outing of the season.
Eskew allowed four runs, but only one was earned after a costly error in the second inning. He allowed just four hits, walked two and struck out three.
It was Eskew’s first weekend start since March 29 against Alabama.
“It was my best stuff by far this year,” Eskew said. “I was able to throw all three pitches for strikes and my change-up is the best it has been all year.”
Eskew has bounced around between mid-week and weekend relief appearances since the start against Alabama. He gained some confidence the last time out in a mid-week start against North Carolina on April 9 when he pitched four scoreless innings.
The Gamecocks are looking for another reliable starter behind Eli Jones. Roman Kimball and Matthew Becker have shown flashes, but if Eskew can pitch like he did Saturday against one of the country’s top teams, it should help heading into the final month of the season.
“He gave us exactly what we hoped,” Kingston said of Eskew. “That is something we can build on. All three guys who started this weekend gave us a chance to win and that is what you asked for when facing the No. 2 team in the country.”
South Carolina baseball schedule this week
- Friday: vs. Kentucky, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Saturday: vs. Kentucky, 6 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Sunday: vs. Kentucky, 3 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published April 20, 2024 at 4:09 PM.
