South Carolina baseball had a great weekend to bounce back from a terrible one. The Gamecocks are now 5-4 in league play with 7 series to go.
Texas A&M came to Columbia 5-1 in conference and was swept. South Carolina got some mediocre pitching and some great pitching. Tyler Webb was in the great category, and he saved all three games. Adam Westmoreland was similarly wonderful in going long, effective outings on Thursday night and Saturday afternoon. Nolan Belcher was amazing again. He was spotted a lead on Friday night and held onto it for 8 1/3 innings.
The bats were either hot or cold. L.B. Dantzler was hot, going 5-11 with a pair of home runs. Connor Bright was 4 of 11; Tanner English was 4 of 9, and Chse Vergason was 3 of 10. Those four had a .390 average for the weekend The rest of the offense, the rest of the series was a combined 7-50 for .140.
On Tuesday South Carolina hosted a below average Charleston Southern team. The Gamecocks pulled away late to win 9-5. On Wednesday Carolina went to Greenville to play Furman.
So, where are we? Most of the season the lineup has been fluid at many positions. The batting order was constantly in a state of flux, and the offense has suffered. Coming into the Furman game USC is hitting a mere .270 with most of their easier competition behind them. In the A&M series the coaching staff seemed to inject some stability in the line-up. Connor Bright was left in right field the entire weekend and responded with a 4-11 performance.
Throughout the weekend the at-bats became better, and it looked like the stability was going to pay some defensive dividends. Whether it would or not, we will never know because the coach staff announced it wanted to treat the midweek games like exhibitions and get some other players some experience. Rather than let those other players come in once the game was in hand, they started them. The result: some very close games.
In fairness to the, "let's see what everyone else can do" strategy, the pitching wasn't great in midweek either. Charleston Southern scored 4 in the first 5 innings, and Furman put up 4 early runs early as well. There is some elite pitching at the top, but after that many giys haven't quite found their groove.
If Montgomery comes back healthy, he is an elite SEC Friday night guy. Nolan Belcher has been paying like the same kind of player. There isn't a third weekend starter yet. Colby Holmes started the season strong but seems to have lost his command. Evan Beal could be that guy, but after some dominant innings he becomes ineffective. Jack Wynkoop has shown flashes, but he isn't there yet. One of those three probably needs to be the guy.
Tyler Webb has been every bit as good as Matt Price was in the closer's role. You couldn't have asked for a better start to the season for him. The bullpen surprise has been Adam Westmoreland. He has been an outstanding middle relief man and has eaten key innings in several SEC games already. Evan Beal might fit nicely as a set up man for Webb if he doesn't become the third starter.
BUT, for all the complaints Carolina was 22-6 at the half way point. They are positioned well, and their season will be remembered for how they finish more than any hiccups with their start. It should be fun to see them address the issues down the stretch.
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