Notes and Quotes: USC-Albany Game 1
Friday’s game was all about the fresh faces. Transfers and true freshmen combined for seven RBIs and five of the Gamecocks’ 10 runs. Junior college transfer Dom Thompson-Williams went 3-4 with three runs and a two-run homerun in his Gamecock debut. Fellow transfers John Jones and Jonah Bride combined for three runs and four RBIs while freshman T.J. Hopkins added a sacrifice bunt, two walks and an RBI.• Junior college transfer John Jones won the job at catcher in the offseason and proved himself a worthy starter Friday. The switch-hitter went 1-2 at the plate with two walks, a run and three RBIs.
In 57 games a season ago, Gamecock catchers combined for a dismal .203 batting average with just 25 RBIs and four homeruns. Jones also played well behind the plate, blocking several balls in the dirt and successfully throwing out a runner at second.
South Carolina’s defense played superbly all evening. The Gamecocks turned two double plays including a 9-3 double play in the third inning, one of freshman TJ Hopkins’ school record-tying two outfield assists on the day. If Bride continues to play well at third base, senior Marcus Mooney will be able to stay at his more natural shortstop position. Though it’s one game, it’s progress for a team that had 61 errors last year.•
The Gamecock batters were patient at the plate, drawing nine walks in eight innings. Last year, the Gamecocks drew at least nine walks only twice, one of which went 11 innings.
Starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt was the first right-hander to start on opening day since Blake Cooper in 2010. The sophomore pitched extremely well, allowing just three hits and one run. Though his control was not as prevalent as in the spring, Schmidt needed only 74 pitches to get through six innings, striking out six in the process. Relief pitchers Colton Provey, Tyler Johnson and Tyler Haswell combined for five strikeouts and just one hit over the final three innings
QUOTES:
"Our pitchers obviously threw the ball very well, we played great defense behind our guys … It’s just one game, we’ll try to build on it and play well again tomorrow.” — Head coach Chad Holbrook on the win
“That was a good test for us right out of the gate to see a mid-90s arm with a good breaking ball … We faced a really good arm and our players competed hard pitch for pitch, and eventually (John) Jones got that big hit with the bases loaded and that kinda gave us some separation and we cruised from there. “ — Holbrook on Albany starter Stephen Woods
“Hopefully we’ll have some new faces in there tomorrow. Gotta try to let some guys play and settle in on a lineup in the next two to three weeks.” — Holbrook on his lineup
"He threw well today, but he’s thrown a lot better. I’m not saying he didn’t throw well, I’m just saying that’s how high I think his ceiling is. He just willed his way and competed today and kept them at bay. He’s dominated our guys much worse than he did Albany today." — Holbrook on Schmidt’s performance
“Our fans can make it extremely hard on our opponents. But I think today our fans kinda just wanted to see what we had.” — Holbrook on the fans
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