Momentum is on Gamecocks' side heading into Monday's showdown
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Momentum can be a deadly force, but it takes time to build. For the Gamecocks, it started around 7:30 a.m. this morning.
Facing a potential doubleheader in their NCAA Regional with a limited bullpen, head coach Chad Holbrook and pitching coach Jerry Meyers discussed which pitcher would start if the Gamecocks made it to the second game of the day.
Holbrook said Meyers wanted to start Johnson if he didn’t have to come in during the early game. And, after a seven-inning effort from starter Adam Hill, Johnson was fresh. It was decision time.
With impending weather, the two began to argue and second-guess themselves, but right around half and hour before game time, they decided.
“I made the lineup out and I left the pitcher’s spot open and said ‘Fill it out’ and (Meyers) threw it back at me,” Holbrook said. “I made a decent pitching decision tonight I guess.”
What happened next was a Michael Roth-esque performance from Johnson, who pitched a complete game against UNCW to force a winner-take-all game Monday night at Founders Park.
What started as a pebble rolling down an incline turned into a boulder barreling down a mountain; the Gamecocks have all the momentum.
“Yeah, I feel like we got a lot of momentum going into tomorrow,” outfielder Gene Cone said. “But, shoot, we played great tonight and hopefully we flush this one tonight, get onto tomorrow and do the same thing we did today.”
With the Gamecocks’ season on the line in two games today, the team responded to outscore their opponents 33-3 and limit the opposition to eight hits in 18 innings.
Johnson and the defense limited a potent UNCW offense—averaging 10.5 runs per game this weekend—to one run on five hits. And offensively, eight of the nine Gamecock starters had a hit Sunday night, including unlikely heroes DC Arendas and Hunter Taylor.
Facing elimination in every game since Friday night, the Gamecocks have found offense when they’ve needed it the most, and they’ll have to do it one more time Monday to advance to the Super Regionals.
“Our backs were going to be against the wall at some point,” Arendas said. “We made some adjustments, tried to be more aggressive offensively and have more consistent at-bats. That’s something we’ll have to do tomorrow.”
After Friday, it seemed unlikely the Gamecocks would make it here, failing to put up ideal offensive numbers against Rhode Island and ace pitcher Tyler Wilson.
But after rattling off three straight wins, it looks like momentum has switched back over to the host team. But for Holbrook, he has to make sure his team can capitalize after his team’s blazing day at the park.
“We won two games today. They don’t give us a trophy because of that. We have to win tomorrow. I hope our players have some confidence and feel a little bit better about themselves after today,” he said. “You win three games in two days and play the way that we played, they should have a little momentum.”
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