Tough schedule awaits struggling USC baseball team

AT THE MIDWAY point of the regular season, the South Carolina baseball team remains in search of some consistency.

At 19-9, the Gamecocks have performed differently across three short stretches in the first half – going 7-3 to start the year, posting a 10-0 mark to follow that, and struggling to a 2-6 record as the second half starts.

What’s this team going to look like when the regular season ends? It’s hard to say.

The Gamecocks have slipped to No. 18 in the Baseball America Top 25 – down 12 spots from two weeks ago – but they haven’t looked like a ranked team the past eight games. After sweeping Kentucky to open the SEC schedule, they dropped consecutive conference series to Missouri and Georgia, winning the final game on Sunday both times to avoid being swept.

“I’m not sitting up here ready to pop a champagne bottle,” USC coach Chad Holbrook said. “... My team is trying to get a little momentum back, and nothing makes you feel a little bit better about yourself than winning a game. Hopefully, we can build upon this win.”

Of those past six losses, five came by one run, and four came in extra innings.

The rest of the schedule is daunting, with the top four teams in the BA rankings ahead: No. 1 Vanderbilt (April 16-18), No. 2 Texas A&M (May 8-10), No. 3 LSU (May 14-16), and No. 4 Florida (April 10-12). Two series are at home (Vanderbilt and LSU) and two are on the road (Florida and Texas A&M).

But the Gamecocks can find a glimmer of light in the league’s standings. They share the same 5-4 conference record with Florida and LSU, while Vanderbilt and Texas A&M are both 7-2. Missouri, which is unranked, sits between them at 6-3.

How the Gamecocks handle the remaining 21 games of SEC play probably will come down to players stepping up and claiming jobs that remain in the air. Holbrook continues to shuffle a number of players at catcher, third base, second base, left field, right field and designated hitter.

That has led to a lack of consistency in the batting order and on defense. He sees some good signs, such as when freshmen Hunter Taylor, Madison Stokes and Clark Scolamiero played well Sunday, but he hasn’t seen enough consistency from them or the veterans.

“We battled a little bit better and competed a little bit better, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” Holbrook said. “I’m still not settled in on some things from an offensive standpoint because it’s tough to be settled when you have a number of guys who are not performing the way they’re capable of performing. I’m going to continue to try to find the right combination.”

Things really would have been tough if senior first baseman Kyle Martin, who leads the club with a .392 average, six homers and 29 RBIs, had not returned to school after being drafted by the Angels.

Sophomore right-hander Taylor Widener was not used against Georgia, but Holbrook insists he is still the closer. Junior left-hander Jack Wynkoop, normally the Saturday starter, was used in that role over the weekend because the coaches believed Friday’s suspended game forced their hand.

“(Widener) didn’t get in, but we’re going to give him the ball again when we get in tight spots,” Holbrook said.

With road trips to The Citadel and Mississippi State this week, many more tight spots are bound to come.

This story was originally published March 30, 2015 at 10:01 PM with the headline "Tough schedule awaits struggling USC baseball team."