A Breakdown Of The Outfield For South Carolina's Baseball Team
We're now almost 48 hours away from the first pitch of the season for Mark Kingston and South Carolina's baseball program. With feelings of making a long-awaited return to Omaha in the air, the Gamecocks have added plenty of talent on top of the guys returning from last year's Super Regional squad.
After talking about Carolina's infield on Monday evening, let's switch our focus to the outfield in the latest edition of this mini-preview series of the Gamecocks 2024 squad:
Notable Returners
Sophomore Ethan Petry
Fifth Year Senior Dylan Brewer
Junior Evan Stone
Coming off of the best season statistically speaking that any freshman hitter has ever had at South Carolina, Ethan Petry comes back with a year of college experience under his belt, along with a desire to become a better all-around player, particularly in the field, which was his only notable weak spot in 2023 (97.2 fielding percentage | 6th lowest out of position players last season). Returning alongside Petry will be Dylan Brewer and Evan Stone, two great guys in the field, but will be looking to find more consistency at the plate this Spring.
Ethan Petry sliding into second base in Game 1 of the Gainesville Super Regional versus the Florida Gators (12th June, 2023)
Cyndi Chambers | Gator Sports
Notable Newcomers
Kennedy Jones (UNC-Greensboro Transfer)
Austin Brinling (North Florida Transfer)
Blake Jackson (Charlotte Transfer)
Regarding the transfers that Coach Kingston and his staff brought in this past season, no position added more depth and firepower than the Gamecocks outfield. Let's start with Jones, who dominated the competition when with the Spartans, slashing .361/.433/.593 (batting average/on-base %/slugging %) in 496 career at-bats, all while putting up a 99.2% fielding percentage in 2023.
The next most intriguing addition is Austin Brinling, who could be a potential lead-off candidate for South Carolina this Spring after reaching the base pads 50 percent of the time in his 202 at-bats with the Ospreys last season, all while registering a 0.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 99.4% fielding percentage. Fans, however, shouldn't forget about Blake Jackson, who, while not putting up the gaudy numbers his two counterparts did last Spring, was a reliable starter for the 49ers, slashing .277/.433/.413 while only committing one error in 106 total chances in the field.
You Might Also Like:
- ANALYSIS: A Look At South Carolina's 2024 Baseball Schedule
- Baseball Coaches Slot Gamecocks In The Middle Of The Pack In SEC East Preseason Poll
- Ethan Petry, Cole Messina Discuss How Petry Has Improved Over The Offseason
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