Destino, Hopkins lead charge as bats heat up before top-10 showdown

South Carolina was skidding. It had just lost two of three against Georgia going 21-for-100 (.210) at the plate and only scoring 12 runs all weekend.

The Gamecocks were looking to get back on track against a Missouri team sitting fifth in the SEC East, and did just that.

The bats heated up, shelling the Tigers for 22 runs on 33-for-104 (.317) hitting.

“Last week was a wakeup call for us, I think,” outfielder TJ Hopkins said. “And this weekend, besides early on Friday, the past few days we swung the bat pretty well.”

And the hot hand at the plate comes at just the right time before a showdown with No. 1 Florida Gators (36-6, 13-5 SEC) coming into Columbia for a top-10 showdown with the No 3 Gamecocks (33-8, 14-4 SEC).

Florida’s pitching staff ranks alone at the top of the SEC in earned run average (2.82), opposing batting average (.221), batters struck out (448), wins (36) and earned runs allowed (120).

Two of their starting pitchers, A.J. Puk and Logan Shore, are in Perfect Game’s top-25 prospect’s list for this year’s MLB Draft.

That’s why South Carolina, which is getting back to being dominant on offense, is relishing the opportunity to play equally dominant Gator pitching for first place in the conference.

“We know we’re going to have our hands full with Florida. We’re going to face a first-rounder Friday, a first-rounder Saturday and then a first-rounder next year Sunday,” outfielder Alex Destino said. “So we’re aware of that, but I think we’re extremely excited for the challenge.”

A major spark of that has been the interplay between Alex Destino and TJ Hopkins. Hopkins, who only starts when Alex Destino is the designated hitter, went 7-for-10 with five RBI and five runs scored in two starts last week.

Head coach Chad Holbrook compared him to Evan Marzilli, and halfway through the season, the comparisons seem to hold up.

“The kid foots the bill: he can run, he play centerfield, he can run the bases, he can steal bases, he can hit a home run,” Holbrook said. “The kid’s awfully talented and he’s just learning how to play.”

Destino, who usually hits clean up behind Hopkins, had big days hitting behind the freshman. In both of Hopkins’ starts, Destino went a combined 4-for-10 with four RBIs.

Hopkins scored three of those four runs Destino drove in.

“It seems like every time he comes in the game it seems like he’s getting a hit or he’s doing something,” Destino said. “When I’m at the plate and he’s running or stealing, I just don’t swing at it and let him run.”

Hopkins is not guaranteed to start all three games against Florida, but will look to make an impact on the game when he does dig in to the batter’s box.

But what is guaranteed is that the Gamecocks, behind players like Hopkins and Destino, are swinging the bats about as well as they have in conference play this season, and it’s at just the right time with the top-ranked team coming to town.

“I just wanted the kids to feel good about themselves and get a little momentum going on offense,” Holbrook said. “And they certainly played with a lot of confidence this week. I think we can build on that.”

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