Gamecock baseball mid-conference awards
South Carolina’s a little past halfway of its SEC season with four more regular series seasons to go and the SEC Tournament.
The Gamecocks (33-8, 14-4 SEC) have already surpassed last year’s conference and total wins and are poised to be at least a regional host, if not a national seed, in this year’s tournament.
Their biggest test of the season so far comes this weekend when the No. 1 Florida Gators roll into Columbia for a top-10 showdown at Founders Park.
Before the Gamecocks take the field Friday, here are our mid-conference (kind of) awards.
Biggest surprise: Gene Cone, outfielder
If you had told me at the beginning of the season Gene Cone would be hitting leadoff, have a 27-game hitting streak and be hitting .457 (with 26 runs scored and 10 RBIs) in SEC play, I would have called you crazy. But, 18 games into SEC play here we are. Cone’s been on fire, and he’s a candidate for team MVP (we’ll get there later). He’s been a rock at the top of the lineup getting on base and allowing hitters behind him to bring him home. He’s the most consistent hitter on the team, and without him the Gamecocks probably wouldn’t be clicking offensively like they have been.
Honorable mentions: Josh Reagan, Marcus Mooney, Tyler Johnson, John Jones
Best newcomer: Braden Webb, pitcher
Well this guy came out of nowhere. I mean, he was a big get for Holbrook and the staff, but to bring him in and his freshman season tab him as the Saturday starter? That’s kind of unheard of. But Webb, who’s path to South Carolina was a bit unconventional, has made the most of his opportunity. He’s been dominant in the majority of his starts with a 8-2 record (3.28 ERA). He has crazy movement on almost all of his pitches and he’s proven he can strike batters out (he’s second on the team with 76 punch-outs this season).
Honorable mentions: John Jones, TJ Hopkins, Jonah Bride, Adam Hill
Player with the most potential: TJ Hopkins, outfielder
He’s just a freshman, but he’s shown flashes of greatness in just 19 starts this season. He’s batting .352 (7-for-10 in his last two starts) and can play centerfield with the best of them. Hopkins is a guy who can pretty much do it all: field, hit, run, steal bases. He’s showing how valuable he is to the team with each start, and he’s going to be a mainstay in the lineup in the coming seasons, and could etch his name into Gamecock greatness if he keeps playing the way he’s playing.
Honorable mentions: Adam Hill, Braden Webb, LT Tolbert, Madison Stokes
Best pitcher: Clarke Schmidt
Everyone expected the sophomore to take a step forward after a solid freshman campaign, but did anyone really expect this big of a jump. A guy throwing in the mid-to-low 80s fastball is now throwing in the low 90s and hit the mid-90s at Georgia. He’s thrown a complete game this year and is a Golden Spikes midseason finalist. Clarke Schmidt came to play this year. Of the five Gamecock starters who have pitched more than 10 innings this season, Schmidt ranks first in ERA (2.04), strikeouts (85) and is third in opponent batting average (.235). In short, Schmidt’s been dominant.
Honorable mentions: Braden Webb, Josh Reagan, Adam Hill, Tyler Johnson
Team MVP: Alex Destino, DH/outfielder
Yes, Gene Cone’s playing like a man possessed, but there has to be a guy in the lineup who brings him home. Enter Destino. He is chiseled in to the cleanup spot, and has been almost all season, driving in 38 of the team’s 270 runs (good for second behind John Jones). He had six RBI last weekend against Missouri and his batting average (.354) ranks second only to Gene Cone. He’s made a big leap forward this year proving he can hit off-speed pitches for contact and power as well as hit to all fields. He’s also a leader on the team as only a sophomore. He’s going to play a big role during the last stretch here and the postseason.
Honorable mentions: Gene Cone, Clarke Schmidt, John Jones, Dom Thompson-Williams
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