OCTOBER 18, 2019 by CHRIS THESPURSUPSHOW
Quick Hitters From South Carolina Baseball’s Thursday Scrimmage
#Gamecocks OF Noah Myers robs Andrew Eyster of extra bases with an incredible catch against the wall.
Still too early to tell, but Myers is my top candidate to replace the departed TJ Hopkins in center field. pic.twitter.com/unF6ezS7fx
— The Spurs Up Show (@TheSpursUpShow) October 17, 2019
The Gamecocks scrimmaged for three innings Thursday afternoon at Founders Park.
LHP Will McGregor and LHP Josiah Sightler started the game and pitched the entire duration of the scrimmage.
McGregor had his moments in three innings of work, showing potential for a youngster.
The freshman southpaw from TL Hanna HS showed a plus changeup on Thursday afternoon, getting many swings and misses from some of USC’s top hitters.
His biggest issue is control. He’ll need to live ahead in the count and locate his pitches down more consistently to see significant innings this upcoming spring.
Overall, he has the moxie of a kid who has been at this level for years, something that will carry him far in his first season.
Sightler continues to work through the growing pains of being a pitcher, as he looks for a way on the field in 2020.
While the breaking ball needs work and you would like to see more velocity, his changeup has shown a lot of promise in my opinion.
He needs to work on the “spread” his changeup has (MPH differential between fastball and offspeed).
However, there is good movement there and his arm action mimics that of his fastball.
OF Noah Myers had a fantastic day on Thursday, starting the scrimmage off with a leadoff double.
I could see him fitting very nicely into that leadoff role, as he has shown to be a tough out and a speed demon on the bases.
He made arguably the play of the fall in the final inning, robbing Andrew Eyster of extra bases with an incredible catch up against the wall.
Myers has had a great fall thus far and I’m putting my money on him to be the Gamecocks starting center fielder on Opening Day.
INF Brennan Milone continues to impress me both at the plate and in the field.
Milone followed up Myers double with a nice backside double of his own. He showed great patience at the plate and the ability to drive the baseball the other way.
He also made a really nice barehanded play on a slow roller. His defense seems to be coming along and he plays the position with confidence and poise.
Overall, I’ve noticed a few things USC really needs to work on and things that I’m sure Mark Kingston is preaching to his team.
Situation hitting left a lot to be desired Thursday, with the Gamecocks stranding runners in scoring position on more than one occasion.
Base running also needs to improve, as South Carolina multiple times had opportunities to score on balls hit to the gap and couldn’t plate the run.
Also, although it was just two pitchers, times to the plate have to get better to give USC catches a chance to throw base runners out.
Simply put, being 1.8 or slower to the plate isn’t going to give any catcher a chance to make a play and throw out a guy trying to steal.
All little things that I know the coaching staff is working on, but still, things that need to be shored up as we move throughout the fall.
South Carolina next takes the diamond Sunday, October 20th against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Founders Park.
Quick Hitters From South Carolina Baseball’s Thursday Scrimmage
#Gamecocks OF Noah Myers robs Andrew Eyster of extra bases with an incredible catch against the wall.
Still too early to tell, but Myers is my top candidate to replace the departed TJ Hopkins in center field. pic.twitter.com/unF6ezS7fx
— The Spurs Up Show (@TheSpursUpShow) October 17, 2019
The Gamecocks scrimmaged for three innings Thursday afternoon at Founders Park.
LHP Will McGregor and LHP Josiah Sightler started the game and pitched the entire duration of the scrimmage.
McGregor had his moments in three innings of work, showing potential for a youngster.
The freshman southpaw from TL Hanna HS showed a plus changeup on Thursday afternoon, getting many swings and misses from some of USC’s top hitters.
His biggest issue is control. He’ll need to live ahead in the count and locate his pitches down more consistently to see significant innings this upcoming spring.
Overall, he has the moxie of a kid who has been at this level for years, something that will carry him far in his first season.
Sightler continues to work through the growing pains of being a pitcher, as he looks for a way on the field in 2020.
While the breaking ball needs work and you would like to see more velocity, his changeup has shown a lot of promise in my opinion.
He needs to work on the “spread” his changeup has (MPH differential between fastball and offspeed).
However, there is good movement there and his arm action mimics that of his fastball.
OF Noah Myers had a fantastic day on Thursday, starting the scrimmage off with a leadoff double.
I could see him fitting very nicely into that leadoff role, as he has shown to be a tough out and a speed demon on the bases.
He made arguably the play of the fall in the final inning, robbing Andrew Eyster of extra bases with an incredible catch up against the wall.
Myers has had a great fall thus far and I’m putting my money on him to be the Gamecocks starting center fielder on Opening Day.
INF Brennan Milone continues to impress me both at the plate and in the field.
Milone followed up Myers double with a nice backside double of his own. He showed great patience at the plate and the ability to drive the baseball the other way.
He also made a really nice barehanded play on a slow roller. His defense seems to be coming along and he plays the position with confidence and poise.
Overall, I’ve noticed a few things USC really needs to work on and things that I’m sure Mark Kingston is preaching to his team.
Situation hitting left a lot to be desired Thursday, with the Gamecocks stranding runners in scoring position on more than one occasion.
Base running also needs to improve, as South Carolina multiple times had opportunities to score on balls hit to the gap and couldn’t plate the run.
Also, although it was just two pitchers, times to the plate have to get better to give USC catches a chance to throw base runners out.
Simply put, being 1.8 or slower to the plate isn’t going to give any catcher a chance to make a play and throw out a guy trying to steal.
All little things that I know the coaching staff is working on, but still, things that need to be shored up as we move throughout the fall.
South Carolina next takes the diamond Sunday, October 20th against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Founders Park.