Another game, another pitching duel for South Carolina to open postseason
Another weekend, another Friday night matchup against a top-tier pitcher. But this time, there’s the added pressure of a postseason game.
When South Carolina takes the field Friday night against Rhode Island, they’ll face the Rams’ ace in lefty Tyler Wilson in the first game of it’s double-elimination regional.
“He’s very impressive. He would do very well in the SEC on a weekend basis,” head coach Chad Holbrook said. “I told our team it’s going to be no different than a Friday night game in the SEC. We’re going to have to treat it as such.”
Wilson last lost on opening day of the season to Florida State (Feb. 19). Since then, he’s 12-0 and has an ERA of 2.08 this season. He also hasn’t given up a hit in his last 14.1 innings and has only one earned run in his last 55.1 innings pitched.
The sophomore has a .141 batting average against and has an almost 4-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio. His video game-esque numbers make his head coach feel at ease against the Gamecocks Friday.
“We’re very confident with Tyler,” Rhode Island head coach Raphael Cerrato said.
“With him on the mound we feel like we can beat anyone in the country. South Carolina’s got a great lineup, but we feel like he can compete with anybody in the country.”
The Gamecocks are no strangers this season to dominant pitching, facing future major league pitchers in Florida’s A.J. Puk and Logan Shore and Texas A&M’s Brigham Hill along with others throughout a rigorous SEC schedule.
Somewhat knowing what to expect, the team can make adjustments now to get ready for a tough southpaw on the mound.
“You got to keep the intensity up and you have to compete every single pitch,” outfielder Gene Cone said. “You have to be the aggressor, try not to let him get ahead in the count to often, get the barrel out on some baseballs and hit it around the park.”
But South Carolina isn’t putting out a slouch either Friday with Holbrook set to rollout the Gamecocks’ ace sophomore righty Clarke Schmidt, who is 9-3 with a 2.96 ERA this year.
Schmidt, who was named to Collegiate Baseball’s third-team All-American team Thursday, started the season on a tear but faltered down the stretch after being bumped up in the rotation back-to-back days.
Coming into this weekend he said he’s back to 100 percent and ready to make his first-career postseason start against the Atlantic 10’s Pitcher of the Year.
“Seeing the recognition he’s getting doesn’t really faze me at all,” Schmidt said. “I have to keep my head straight and try not to rock the boat. I have to focus no the things I need to focus on.”
Schmidt said he’s not focusing too much on the matchup, and is worrying about him and his team. Offensively, the Rams have a few power hitters but only three hitting above .275.
Schmidt, who has blazed his way through the SEC with 4-3 record in 10 starts, said he’s ready to experience the environment of his first postseason start. Other than that, he’s bringing the same mentality he has all season.
“I typically like to pitch with a chip on my shoulder,” Schmidt said. “You can’t give them an advantage and can’t show you’re afraid of any team. I’ve never gone into any start fearing any pitcher. My mentality is to go out there and attack every hitter I can and just get everyone out, try to go deep into games and keep my team in it to win it.”
South Carolina opens their regional at 7 p.m. tomorrow night against Rhode Island. If the Gamecocks win, they’ll play at 6 p.m. Saturday. If they lose, they’ll play at noon in an elimination game.
