South Carolina baseball scrimmage notes: Oct. 6
South Carolina baseball held an eight-inning scrimmage Friday as fall ball cranks up.
The Gamecocks had a more offensive than pitching day and here are a few key observations from the day.
The offense
One of the biggest standouts of the day was Will Tippett, who drove in three over the course of the scrimmage with two coming off a two-run homer. The ball was rocketed 102 miles per hour off the bat and went 404 feet.
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This team has a ton of power with multiple guys going yard. Ethan Petry hit one in the first inning off of Tyler Pitzer at 110 off the bat while Dalton Reeves hit one 418 feet to straightaway center and Evan Stone and Ryan Bakes went pull-side to left field.
Stone’s went 405 feet while Bakes curled one around the South Carolina foul pole.
Newcomer Tyler Causey hit one 397 feet pull-side to right field, a missile off the bat. Causey also made a great diving catch and throw to get the out at first base.
Both candidates for shortstop–Tippett and Lee Ellis–made great plays at short. Tippett handled a rocket off the bat on a short hop then made a nice play to start a double play. Ellis made a nice ranging play to field a ball and gun a runner out.
Tippett, with his three RBI day, had the better scrimmage at the plate.
Another guy who popped was Carson Hornung, who walked at least once and drove in another on a RBI single. Hornung always knew the strike zone well last season with a high walk rate, but he didn’t hit for a very high average.
Transfer portal outfielder Kennedy Jones also drove in a run with a RBI double. They weren’t highlight-reel plays, but he looked really comfortable for the Gamcocks in left field. Jones made a good jump on a sinking liner that last year probably dropped for a single.
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Pitching
It was a very up-and-down day for the pitching staff with the arms on the mound flashing at times but struggling with walks. Most issues came in pitcher’s second innings after what was typically a strong first inning for each guy.
There were double-digit walks over the course of an eight-inning scrimmage and a ton of home runs up and down the lineup.
Dylan Eskew–who came in last year out of junior college–was the highlight of the day. He looked in complete control over two scoreless innings, punching out four. He looked like a guy who can compete for innings on the weekend this season.
Freshmen Pitzer, Xavier Pelzer and Eddie Copper all tossed a pair of innings Friday. Pitzer gave up a pair of home runs and Copper had some flashes too with a fastball up to 94 miles per hour.
Transfer portal lefty Garrett Gainey got out of a jam in the first inning after a leadoff walk. He’d get a pair of groundouts and a fly out to end the threat before giving up a homer in his second inning. His fastball topped out around 93 miles per hour and he’d strike out Petry swinging to end an inning.
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Two more portal pitchers–Tyler Dean and Ty Good–threw with Dean giving up some hits but ratcheting up to 96 miles per hour on the mound. Good gave up a few base runners on walks but got out of each jam. He ended up tossing two scoreless innings to close out the scrimmage.
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