Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox Talking Gamecocks, I am your host, Tim Cox, where I will keep every episode from 18 one to 2001. And she I don't know about y'all, but this week has kicked my ass, I'm telling you. And there is nothing better getting me to the weekend than just the thought of sitting down Saturday afternoon Carolina baseball, the Q zips and sitting down with a nice crispy brewski. Nothing is gonna clear my head more than a crispy boy and wearing a Q zip. Really, it's not. I mean, it's also, you know, we had some fun news of the NCA game really moving along. Herb Street Fowler, Jesse Palmer gonna be in the game. South Carolina posting really cool graphics, really confirming that we're in the game. As if that was ever in doubt. But man, yeah, that's going to be sick. I'm not really much of a big gamer. I'm going to have to get back into it, obviously, just so I can play this game and win multiple national championships with South Carolina. Lenore Sellers get Shane Beamer coach of the year, even though I'll be calling the plays, but no big deal. We'll let the headman get the credit for it here. But yeah, hope y'all are excited for a very busy weekend around Gamecock Nation. I'm here to get y'all up to speed for that. But first, let's look back as a week in review here. Not a whole lot to report on, but you had swimming and diving. They're actually at the SEC championships throughout the week and the updates from social media have been nothing but positive. Really, from what I'm seeing, a lot of school records being broken, personal best being broken and things like that. So follow along. Go follow them on social media. You'll see how the final results end up probably the end of the week or so like that. And then Wednesday, softball beat Furman eight to nothing. Softball is off to a hell of a start right now. Off to an eight and one start and nothing but credit to those ladies. I mean, they are kicking butt. Bev Smith has those teams rolling. Those teams has that team rolling. And then also was having some fun with Shane Beamer the other day. I don't know if y'all saw, but it was basically the football team had a whiffle ball tournament, basically like amongst their own team. Team Eman Warri got the w, got the championship for those of you keeping track, but they posted a highlight of it and Bev Smith said, sounds like we need to have a little challenge here. Football versus softball, and that would be some great content. We need Beamer and Smith to be the anchors, be maybe the pitchers, even. And then let's go best on best. But, yeah, Nick, a man warrior made the most athletic catch you'll ever see in wiffleball and then literally dove for the ball. Landed essentially just like on his back, kind of, but then flipped, essentially just landed on the ground, and then just sprung up like one of the most athletic feats you'll ever casually see. Like, wasn't trying to do that. And it made me think that we're going to go undefeated this year. So shout out. Nikki Manwari just stays winning. Guy just stays winning. But there will be a ton of action from the other spring sports coming up this weekend, so I'm really looking forward to sharing those updates with y'all. It is a jam packed weekend. Like, not just from the major sports. It is packed. We got men's tennis, women's tennis, volleyball, equestrian, you name it. It is in action this weekend and looking forward to sharing the good news with you all. Hopefully lots of wins and things like that. But now let's look back and talk about baseball here as the Yardcocks were in action twice this week in really what has been, like a fast and furious start to the schedule. Like, we had opening day, then they had that whole series. One day off, two games they're getting a day off, and then it's right back at it for a weekend series. So no rest for the weary here. But it is five up and five down as the Gamecocks swept their midweek matchup to improve to five. And on this very young season here, game one was Tuesday against Winthrop, and the Gamecocks run ruled and got the victory twelve to two. The whole run rule thing, I still have to write my mind around it. I know we did it last year. It just still is one of those things you have to reprogram your brain that like, oh, yeah, this happens now, it's funny, but it was really consistent offense throughout the game that got the job done for Carolina. You had contributions from Will Tippett, Dylan Brewer, Tyler Cosby, all getting in on the action. And it was actually Tippett who walked in the run that ultimately made it be a run rule, right. That essentially ended the game for Carolina. Eddie Copper got the start in this game, and he looked great. I mean, he looked so much more relaxed and in command, especially compared to the last time we saw him, which was on opening day. And he hit a couple guys, walked another. You could just tell first collegiate action. Maybe there were some nerves there. Copper was a guy they talked about in the offseason as really having a high ceiling that they were excited about, and you kind of saw that in this game. But he went well. Austin Williamson, Ty good and Tyler Dean all appeared in relief with Ty good getting the win. Some player highlights from this game. You had Tyler Cosby two for three with four ribies. I'm very impressed with him so far. Off to a great start. Blake Jackson two for two with one RBI, and then Talmudge Lee Croix, my boy went three for three.
[00:07:11] Game two of the midweek was Wednesday, and the Gamecocks again recorded a run rule win, this time defeating Queens 13 to three. I think this one went to eight innings. The first one went seven. But to me, the story of this game is Matthew Becker, right? So after having to sit out opening weekend because of an injury, which at one point was feared that it was going to be really serious, turns out he dodged a bullet. They had him sit out some extra time. This was his quote unquote rehab start, if you will. But he looked great going. He went just two innings, right? Probably part of the rehab process, but he allowed two hits along with five strikeouts. He had great stuff. And then after him, it was really a laundry list of guys coming into pitch, including Tyler Pitzer, Chris Veach, Sam Simpson, and all told, Carolina only surrendered two walks this entire game. Offensively, the Gamecocks were beneficiaries of some poor defense. He got blessed a little bit there, but hey, that's baseball. They also had timely hitting themselves. Talmudge Lee Croix, he's just looked great so far this year. He is absolutely raking. Funny enough, in this game, it was Will Tippett who was hit by a pitch which brought in a run to then trigger the run rule yet again. So you basically had back to back walk offs for Will Tippett without really hitting the baseball. Baseball hit him.
[00:08:47] So shout out, will tippett. Love that guy. And then player highlights from this game. Cole Messina, one for five with three RBI. Ethan Petrie went two for two, and then Talmage went two for three with one RBI. And look, I know we're only five games into this season and we've yet to really even hit the pinnacle or even sniff the pinnacle of competition that we're going to face, but I'm liking what I'm seeing so far from this squad, right? I mean, the guys we know, they can certainly hit for power, but they've been great at generating runs so far in other ways and have been smart on the bases. You remember last year it was just a power parade for the first 1012 games or so, maybe even more where South Carolina was at or near the top of home runs in the country, which is fantastic. This year there's been home runs, been plenty of them. But you're seeing more like doubles, singles, driving one or two runs in at a clip, which is probably more sustainable long term. But when you look at the lineup and you have a guy like Moose Petri, these guys that can hit for power, when you get it from other sources, you just know that could come, right? I mean, Petri hit two home runs in one game the other day, right? So really liking what I'm seeing there. But it's the pitching though, which has really stood out to me, especially these last three games. Going back to the Miami finale, our guys are just pounding the zone and they have not given up many walks at all. I think I was seeing it was like eight walks this entire season so far, more or less eight walks in five games. That's ridiculous. I mean, that is control. You have new pitching coach Matt Williams.
[00:10:43] He came in with a solid resume. It felt like it was a good hire and so far the guys seem to have responded. And also I do think that Mark Kingston has done a good job of managing guys if tricky situations have arrived, like really limiting putting them in high leverage spots if they aren't up to the task just yet. You really only saw that on opening day. Chris feature comes in and gets copper out of it, but you've seen short leashes and it also know you're still trying know stretch guys out and things like that. But if that's going to be the approach I'm here for, it seems to be working and the guys have seemingly responded to this new coaching.
[00:11:29] Up next for Carolina is a weekend series at home against Belmont. I'm not even going to act like I know anything about Belmont baseball, but your weekend rotation is the same as last weekend. Friday Eli Jones, Saturday Dylan escue and Sunday is Roman Kimball micro to the series here. Let's just keep up this good work we're seeing with the pitching, right. Let's limit the walks. If we can keep pounding the zone, keep forcing guys to either strike out or put the ball in play, that feels like it's a winning recipe when you have good defense out there as well. So should be a fun weekend in Founders park. Fully going with baseball. It's a great time. It really is. Let's go, Cox. Let's go. Let's go. Eight. No, let's sweep this. Be huge. Be exciting. Really excited to see the guys back out there. Just feels great. But speaking of guys being back out there, let's talk men's basketball here. Now, the guys were not in action this week as they had a break from the midweek games. And it's know we are very quickly nearing the end of the season with Carolina having just five games left before the SEC tournament. But have no fear, the Qzips are in fact back in action this Saturday. 330 at Ole Miss. And now, if you remember correctly, the last time these two teams played, Carolina led by as much as 17, but ended up just squeaking away with the win, 68 to 65 thanks to some heroics by CMB late in the game. I talked a little bit about that the other episode. We're not going to revisit it, but nonetheless expect a tight game from this one. Ole Miss is currently 19 and seven overall. They are six and seven in conference. They are also 14 and one at home. It's actually crazy. I was checking out some stats and things like that and just seeing, especially in the SEC, the home records home court advantage is real. I mean, in college it's real everywhere, in every sport. But this year, especially in seeing it just. It is tough to win on the road in the SEC. Like, that's not a joke. That's not just something that people say. It's real. I mean, look at Ole Miss. They got a solid record, right? They're 19 and seven. That's a good team. They're six and seven in the SEC. You could be like, what is that? Right? 14 and one at home.
[00:14:17] They kick ass at home.
[00:14:20] So it's going to be really interesting to see how the guys respond. Now, Ole Miss is coming off a loss to Mississippi State. Now, last game, Ole Miss was on fire from that mid range shot, if you remember, which is really the shot that Lamont Paris has said he's happy, maybe not happy. He's okay with seeing teams take those mid range shots, especially being contested in his defensive system, right? They were just hitting it at such a high clip that they were really beating the ods. But it's really that Lamont doesn't want to give you the three and he doesn't want to give you the easy baskets under the hoop. So he's willing to concede a little bit on the mid range shot. So you definitely want to keep an eye out for that. So my crow to the game here is don't let Merle and Flanagan beat us yet again.
[00:15:13] These two guys do lead the Rebels in scoring, so it might be a tall ask to limit them both.
[00:15:21] So it feels like, especially Flanagan, he just absolutely killed us in that game last time and led that comeback for the revs. So you have to continue to play strong defense and continue to contest those shots from Ole Miss. Stay in front of the play.
[00:15:41] This is going to be a huge challenge on the road, but it is one that the Gamecocks have to be ready for. You have to like that the guys had a little bit of extra rest. I mean, you could make the argument that it throws off their rhythm a little bit, but after the week that they had last week, I'm okay with having a little bit of a reset, looking inward a little bit, and hopefully coming out fresh and ready to compete. Because the question that I have is, is this game a must win?
[00:16:14] Is it? I mean, it's not a must win in the sense of South Carolina is fighting for their tournament berth.
[00:16:23] All the bracketologies have shifted a little bit. At one point you might have seen Carolina as a four seed. Now it's like six, seven ish.
[00:16:34] So you still feel pretty good about know, you got to feel like you'll win some games down the stretch here and you really want to perform well in the SEC tournament. But the guys are on a two game skid and now you're on the road. Really difficult situation to be in.
[00:16:52] You can't lose three in a row, and with only five games left, you need to be trending in the right direction as you go into postseason play.
[00:17:04] So is it a must win again? I don't think I'm going to go that far because of just where the Gamecocks are sitting, right. You're ranked 20th, you have a good record. You've only lost just a couple in the SEC, but, man, if you drop this one, you're in a tough spot. Right? And so it's one of those, like, not a must win, but it can't lose.
[00:17:33] Play well, play good. I think all of the remaining games left on the schedule are quad one wins, if I'm not mistaken.
[00:17:41] So, meaning there's not really a quote unquote bad loss potential on the schedule left because you're either on the road against a solid team or you're playing at home against a good team. It's going to be tough games throughout. And guess what? You do find yourself in the big dance. And if you win that first game, they're all going to be big games. And they're all going to be against teams with momentum and who have something going for them. Might not be home court advantage, but it might be a kid that's really hot. It might be a system that you're not used to playing, so you're facing adversity here.
[00:18:20] Are you truly ready for this? This is a great test. It's going to be a hostile environment, so keep that home record in mind when you're watching. If things are a little frustrating, but you really got to hope that Lamont Paris can have these guys ready to play. This is a team that's good. Yes. Ole Miss in the post might match up better a little bit. They got that really tall guy, the one that CMB blocked. Can't have him beat you either, right? Michi Johnson, he was starting to get going a little bit last week. Let's hope he gets going. I'd love to see CMB continue. Miles studio, these guys. We have the guys. We're up for the challenge. Can you get it done on the road? Let's go. Love the Q zips, man. But talking basketball here. Let's keep talking. Let's talk women's basketball, though. Now the women are taking on Alabama. As I am recording this, I feel bad.
[00:19:15] So many of their games just fall on when I have to record and I need my beauty sleep. I'm not a machine. I do work. I can't stay up super late, watch the games, do all this, all that jazz. So I am sorry, but I am sending good vibes now. The ladies are also quickly wrapping up their season as after Thursday's game, they'll only have three left. And I don't want to get ahead of myself because I know the implications of the game against Alabama and all that jazz. But you can certainly start to be thinking about regular season SEC champs, and that's all I'm going to say about that. Now, focusing on this game here. The tide are 27. They are seven and five in conference. It's been impressive looking at the Gamecocks here, seeing as they get stronger as the game goes on, right? And I think that's a testament to the depth of the Gamecocks bench, which is why you do feel good about them in a postseason scenario. Now, looking at this game specifically, my crow to the game is limit. Sarah Ashley Barker. She leads Alabama in points and field goal percentage. It has been a calling card for the Gamecocks to limit an opposing team's star guard. So the ladies will have to do that one more time here to avoid a serious battle against Alabama with that, y'all. That wraps up this episode. Please follow me on social media, Twitter or X is coxGamecox. Instagram is just the name of the show. Cox talking Game Cox. And please, like, subscribe and review the podcast. I appreciate all y'all. Go, Cox.
