PHOTOS: Scrimmage No. 3 (by Paul Collins)
Click
South Carolina continued fall practice on Friday as the Gamecocks returned to the diamond. GamecockCentral.com's David Cloninger was there to offer some scrimmage impressions.
USC will scrimmage again at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The Gamecocks will scrimmage every weekend for the next four weekends, except for the Oct. 19 weekend (fall break). All scrimmages are open to the public. They are scheduled to wind it up with the Garnet and Black World Series on the Oct. 26 weekend.
Home -- CF Tanner English, SS Max Schrock, EH Erik Payne, 3B LB Dantzler, C Grayson Greiner, LF T.J. Costen, 1B Kyle Martin, 2B Chase Vergason, RF Sean Sullivan, EH Patrick Harrington, P Patrick Sullivan, P Kris Nelson, P Hunter Privette
Visitor -- SS Connor Bright, 2B D.C. Arendas, 3B George Iskenderian, 1B Brison Celek, EH Ryan Ripken, EH Zack Smith, C Dante Rosenberg, LF Ray Murphy, RF Anthony Paulsen, CF Seth Constable, P Josh Knab, P Drake Thomason, P Hunter Privette
* The Home team won 6-0.
* Patrick Sullivan looked pretty solid in his three innings. He's one of those veteran guys that will figure into the mix somewhere, probably as a midweek starter or weekend spot starter first and then an emergency reliever in an extra-inning game. He knows what he's doing up there and while he may not be lighting up any radar guns, he knows how to pitch in this league.
* Erik Payne was a late addition to the lineup. He sat out last week with that same stress fracture in his foot. Payne took the place of Joey Pankake, who cut his thumb while fielding during batting practice. Payne still wears a sizable shinguard/brace on his left ankle and didn't play the field, while Pankake did bat later on.
* Ryan Ripken has an unusual batting stance. It looks exactly like the plastic cutout of "Steve," the bullpen batter dummy that the Gamecocks carry around with them. Strange to see a player as tall as he is adopt that kind of gawky power-less stance, but he gets the bat through the zone pretty quickly, despite holding it parallel to the ground on the windup.
* Anthony Paulsen has a rather strange stance as well. Holds the bat pointed at a 45-degree angle, way back over his left shoulder. Drops it on the delivery, seems to have a bit of a problem catching up to the ball.
* Kyle Martin made some great plays at first base. LB Dantzler threw wide to the bag but Martin stayed with it, made the catch and tagged the runner in the path (Dantzler did it again later, and Martin saved it - Dantzler wasn't planting his foot before he threw). Then he dove to smother a hot shot to his right, recovered and got back to the bag. He's noticeably quicker and continues to scrimmage with the first team.
* Chase Vergason continues to smack line drives all over the field, but one of his 2012 foibles - base-running - again popped up on Friday. Vergason took off for second on a hit-and-run, and Sean Sullivan lashed a single to right field. Vergason held up just before he got to second, saw the ball wasn't going to be caught, and ran through the stop sign to go to third. He was thrown out by two steps at third. In a competition that should stay between he and Max Schrock, every little slip-up helps the other guy.
* Kris Nelson has a unique sidearm delivery. He just kind of sticks his arm out and whips it to the plate, looking like he could do it for the next 27 innings. When he does alter his delivery and throws over the top, he doesn't get a lot of heat on the ball, but it sinks and mostly results in grounders. The sidearm is his best for fastballs.
* Drake Thomason threw pretty well, but has that same hitch in his delivery. He winds up, has the ball cocked and stopped at a 90-degree angle, then comes to the plate. He can still bring it, with his velocity looking as good to me as it did in high school (no working radar gun during scrimmages), but struggles to throw consistent strikes. He can factor in this year, I'd say more as a midweek starter than a reliever, but has to show that he can keep throwing strikes. On Friday, he certainly did, striking out Pankake and Schrock while retiring Tanner English on a groundout. It was very impressive for a pitcher that has worked his tail off to get back from Tommy John surgery - he worked so hard, in fact, that the strength coach had to tell him to quit doing so much because he was going to over-condition.
Of course, there are still some rough spots - after Thomason walked Payne to start the fifth, Dantzler took him over the right-field rail for a two-run homer. Thomason rebounded by striking out Grayson Greiner and Martin, with a base hit to T.J. Costen in between. George Iskenderian ended the inning with an outstanding catch of a foul pop, hauling it in on one leg.
Three straight errors by his defense in his last inning opened the door to a four-run inning. The only one that Thomason could be blamed for was plunking Payne to load the bases.
* Patrick Harrington continues to play well. As the third catcher, he threw out a runner trying to steal third, then came to the plate and singled. He stole second, slid in as the relay was dropped, and despite the ball being in the dirt around him, rose and ran to third. He beat that throw as well. He's a guy that can contribute, especially if he hits - Greiner and Dante Rosenberg are the top two catchers.
* Dantzler was 3-for-3 with three RBIs.
* The defense seemed to be joined to the sun as it sank. The Gamecocks had three straight boots to give Thomason his rough inning, then kept dropping relays and letting balls skip through for the rest. Get 'em out of the way now, I suppose.
* Hunter Privette pitched for each team.
PITCHING LINES
Sullivan - 3IP, 1H, 1K
Knab - 3IP, 3H, 1BB, 2K
Nelson - 3IP, 2H, 2K
Thomason - 3IP, 6H, 6R, 2ER, 1BB, 1HBP, 4K
Privette - 2IP, 2H, 1BB, 1HBP, 1K
link: http://southcarolina.rivals.com/default.asp
Click
South Carolina continued fall practice on Friday as the Gamecocks returned to the diamond. GamecockCentral.com's David Cloninger was there to offer some scrimmage impressions.
USC will scrimmage again at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The Gamecocks will scrimmage every weekend for the next four weekends, except for the Oct. 19 weekend (fall break). All scrimmages are open to the public. They are scheduled to wind it up with the Garnet and Black World Series on the Oct. 26 weekend.
Home -- CF Tanner English, SS Max Schrock, EH Erik Payne, 3B LB Dantzler, C Grayson Greiner, LF T.J. Costen, 1B Kyle Martin, 2B Chase Vergason, RF Sean Sullivan, EH Patrick Harrington, P Patrick Sullivan, P Kris Nelson, P Hunter Privette
Visitor -- SS Connor Bright, 2B D.C. Arendas, 3B George Iskenderian, 1B Brison Celek, EH Ryan Ripken, EH Zack Smith, C Dante Rosenberg, LF Ray Murphy, RF Anthony Paulsen, CF Seth Constable, P Josh Knab, P Drake Thomason, P Hunter Privette
* The Home team won 6-0.
* Patrick Sullivan looked pretty solid in his three innings. He's one of those veteran guys that will figure into the mix somewhere, probably as a midweek starter or weekend spot starter first and then an emergency reliever in an extra-inning game. He knows what he's doing up there and while he may not be lighting up any radar guns, he knows how to pitch in this league.
* Erik Payne was a late addition to the lineup. He sat out last week with that same stress fracture in his foot. Payne took the place of Joey Pankake, who cut his thumb while fielding during batting practice. Payne still wears a sizable shinguard/brace on his left ankle and didn't play the field, while Pankake did bat later on.
* Ryan Ripken has an unusual batting stance. It looks exactly like the plastic cutout of "Steve," the bullpen batter dummy that the Gamecocks carry around with them. Strange to see a player as tall as he is adopt that kind of gawky power-less stance, but he gets the bat through the zone pretty quickly, despite holding it parallel to the ground on the windup.
* Anthony Paulsen has a rather strange stance as well. Holds the bat pointed at a 45-degree angle, way back over his left shoulder. Drops it on the delivery, seems to have a bit of a problem catching up to the ball.
* Kyle Martin made some great plays at first base. LB Dantzler threw wide to the bag but Martin stayed with it, made the catch and tagged the runner in the path (Dantzler did it again later, and Martin saved it - Dantzler wasn't planting his foot before he threw). Then he dove to smother a hot shot to his right, recovered and got back to the bag. He's noticeably quicker and continues to scrimmage with the first team.
* Chase Vergason continues to smack line drives all over the field, but one of his 2012 foibles - base-running - again popped up on Friday. Vergason took off for second on a hit-and-run, and Sean Sullivan lashed a single to right field. Vergason held up just before he got to second, saw the ball wasn't going to be caught, and ran through the stop sign to go to third. He was thrown out by two steps at third. In a competition that should stay between he and Max Schrock, every little slip-up helps the other guy.
* Kris Nelson has a unique sidearm delivery. He just kind of sticks his arm out and whips it to the plate, looking like he could do it for the next 27 innings. When he does alter his delivery and throws over the top, he doesn't get a lot of heat on the ball, but it sinks and mostly results in grounders. The sidearm is his best for fastballs.
* Drake Thomason threw pretty well, but has that same hitch in his delivery. He winds up, has the ball cocked and stopped at a 90-degree angle, then comes to the plate. He can still bring it, with his velocity looking as good to me as it did in high school (no working radar gun during scrimmages), but struggles to throw consistent strikes. He can factor in this year, I'd say more as a midweek starter than a reliever, but has to show that he can keep throwing strikes. On Friday, he certainly did, striking out Pankake and Schrock while retiring Tanner English on a groundout. It was very impressive for a pitcher that has worked his tail off to get back from Tommy John surgery - he worked so hard, in fact, that the strength coach had to tell him to quit doing so much because he was going to over-condition.
Of course, there are still some rough spots - after Thomason walked Payne to start the fifth, Dantzler took him over the right-field rail for a two-run homer. Thomason rebounded by striking out Grayson Greiner and Martin, with a base hit to T.J. Costen in between. George Iskenderian ended the inning with an outstanding catch of a foul pop, hauling it in on one leg.
Three straight errors by his defense in his last inning opened the door to a four-run inning. The only one that Thomason could be blamed for was plunking Payne to load the bases.
* Patrick Harrington continues to play well. As the third catcher, he threw out a runner trying to steal third, then came to the plate and singled. He stole second, slid in as the relay was dropped, and despite the ball being in the dirt around him, rose and ran to third. He beat that throw as well. He's a guy that can contribute, especially if he hits - Greiner and Dante Rosenberg are the top two catchers.
* Dantzler was 3-for-3 with three RBIs.
* The defense seemed to be joined to the sun as it sank. The Gamecocks had three straight boots to give Thomason his rough inning, then kept dropping relays and letting balls skip through for the rest. Get 'em out of the way now, I suppose.
* Hunter Privette pitched for each team.
PITCHING LINES
Sullivan - 3IP, 1H, 1K
Knab - 3IP, 3H, 1BB, 2K
Nelson - 3IP, 2H, 2K
Thomason - 3IP, 6H, 6R, 2ER, 1BB, 1HBP, 4K
Privette - 2IP, 2H, 1BB, 1HBP, 1K
link: http://southcarolina.rivals.com/default.asp
