I want to say I didn’t see it coming, but deep down I always knew it was a possibility.
For the third time this season, South Carolina has blown a midweek game to an inferior opponent. Presbyterian who came off a jaw dropping 36-4 loss over the weekend to Campbell (11-12) defeated the Gamecocks Tuesday night 9-6.
Presbyterian out hit the Gamecocks and their pitching for the most part took care of business when needed. Carolina on the other hand ran through six pitchers and were still unable to come up with the win.
The Gamecocks tied the ball game in the fourth but couldn’t seem to score a single run afterward. South Carolina did suffer a few tough breaks that could have put them up at least another run or two.
However, they simply shouldn’t have been in a situation where a bad bounce or a miraculous double play made a difference in the game at all. Especially against a team like Presbyterian.
The most frustrating thing about this team is that, after each step forward they seem to immediately take a step back.
This season Carolina has either suffered a sweep or a midweek loss after a big series win against a Top 5 ball club. On top of that, the gamecocks are now 1-3 in their last four mid week games. Obviously, Carolina has had pitching injuries, but that does not excuse multiple mid week losses this early in the season.
Midweek games occur when your rotation is not fully rested; therefore, they are designed to be very winnable and they almost always are against inferior opponents. With the exception of Gardner-Webb, it’s quite obvious that the Gamecocks aren’t firing on all cylinders.
The team either gives up far too many runs or they get crushed by sub par pitching. In the case of Tuesday night, I would argue that both occurred. Although they tied the game in the fourth, they fell completely flat afterward.
Sure, midweek losses happen. Fans should never give up on the season after one. In fact, the 2012 team (CWS runners up) fell twice in the mid week to Francis Marion and Wofford. This team still remained at the top of the SEC and won the rest of their midweek games. Therefore, these two losses didn’t hold much significance.
The problem with our current team is, they are beginning to show a pattern instead of having an off game or two. They haven’t looked like the better team in any of their 3 losses. These losses haven’t been just games where the bats fall quiet, they are games where your opponent outplays in every way.
In order to fix this major setback, the Gamecocks are going to have to find a way to perform as a complete team. Our pitching can’t allow 9 runs a game, and we can’t score a handful of runs in one inning and none the rest of the game (we need to find a way to spread out runs throughout the game).
There’s no excuse for the pitchers you’ve faced in the midweek to shut you down as they have.
How does Carolina make these changes? I have absolutely no idea. But if they are unable to then they will continue to lose during the midweek, and during series against opponents you know you should beat.
I’m praying we see an entirely different Gamecock ball club this weekend from the one we saw Tuesday night.