Starting infield looks set with season opener four days away
After three weekends of scrimmages, and with the 2016 season opener against Albany looming Friday, Chad Holbrook has seemingly settled on a starting infield.
When the Gamecocks trot out of the dugout in four days in front of a packed Founders Park, Alex Destino (first base), D.C. Arendas (second base), Marcus Mooney (shortstop) and JUCO transfer Jonah Bride (third base) will likely line up at their respective positions.
Featuring two veterans (Arendas and Mooney) and two newcomers to the Gamecocks infield (Destino served mainly as the DH last season), Holbrook believes the quartet should be solid defensively.
“The infielders we’ve put out there that we think are going to be our regulars have played great defense,” Holbrook said Saturday following the final full team scrimmage of preseason camp. “I didn’t do as much rotating this (past) weekend. I kept the regulars together. Mooney, Jonah and D.C. are gifted defenders.
Freshman L.T. Tolbert (Piedmont, SC) was recruited as a shortstop out of IMG Academy in Florida, but is versatile enough to play multiple positions, which could bode well for him in 2016.
At the moment, Tolbert is the fifth infielder and the top backup to Destino at first.
“L.T. is a shortstop, so he can play all over the place,” Holbrook said. “He’s had a great January and early February. I feel comfortable he will play Friday. His level of play deserves him getting a fair share of opportunities. He has clearly shown he is one of our better players and I’m going to play our best players.”
The trio of John Jones, Chris Cullen and Hunter Taylor continue to battle for playing time at catcher.
“Our catching situation is much improved,” Holbrook said. “We have three really good catchers back there that all bring something different to the table. They all do a very good job.”
The outfielders have been inconsistent for most of the scrimmages, but two of the three starting spots will likely be claimed by sophomore Clark Scolamiero and heralded JUCO transfer Dom Thompson-Williams, who has been up and down in the preseason as he makes the transition to major college baseball.
“Clark has been very steady, but he has scuffled some too,” Holbrook said. “Dom has been scuffling a little bit lately (3 strikeouts in Saturday’s scrimmage), so we have to make sure we get him into mid-season form by Friday and get him comfortable and feeling good about himself. Dom will be in there opening day. He is a physical, mature kid and a difference maker.”
Youngsters T.J. Hopkins. Danny Blair, Jared Williams, veteran Gene Cone and football standout Brandon McIlwain are all eyeing the opportunity to play in 2016.
Defensively, Holbrook feels the speedy Gamecock outfield has a chance to be solid and allow few balls into the gaps.
“Our outfielders can go get the ball,” Holbrook said. “But they have been a little inconsistent. They have all had their moments. T.J. has been inconsistent, but has shown flashes of brilliance. Danny Blair can do some things that excite you, but he is just a freshman. We might have a rotation going on in the outfield until a couple of guys separate themselves because there is not much separation between a number of those guys right now.”
It’s no secret the Gamecocks struggled at the plate last season and the scrimmages showed progress has been made in that area, but Holbrook wants even more improvement. USC’s top three hitters from a year ago (Kyle Martin, Elliott Caldwell and Max Schrock) have departed. Cone is the top returning hitter from 2015 and he hit just .257.
“Our offensive approach and pitch selection needs to get a little better,” Holbrook said. “We have to handle the bunt game better. Our fast guys have to get bunts down. We have to cut down on strikeouts.”
