Palmetto Points

It absolutely boggles my mind that this Carolina team could collapse on the big stage as they did in the 9th inning here in Hoover. Under no circumstance is it okay to walk a leadoff hitter in the ninth inning with a four run lead. Of course, the Gamecocks walked three runners in the 9th, which led to three of the four runs. The pitching staff as a whole has struggled mightily in the stretch run of the season but things seemed to be moving in the right direction after eight perfect innings of baseball. Then comes the ninth and things all apart... Emotions seemed to fall apart after the walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 10th with multiple Gamecocks throwing equipment and general temper tantrums in the dugout. It is going to take a lot to bounce back tomorrow after a tough loss and the squad, at least outwardly, in disarray.

As a baseball player or a fan of the game, you do not often stumble upon baseball in its purest form. But sitting out here in a pictuesque morning in Hoover, AL. it is easy to see that this is the way that baseball should be. We have two passionate teams out there ready to play the sport they love, for a school they love, in the best conference in the nation. There is no telling what Saturday's victory over Tennessee will do for this team. The walkoff homerun by Reese Havens in the bottom of the ninth to bring Carolina to this point seems like it would have this team at an optimum confidence and ready to go. There is certainly a revenge factor as the Gamecocks have openly admitted to wanting payback over this LSU team that swept them in Baton Rouge earlier this season. Sam Dyson has earned the start, which is a surprise given the fire balling freshman has yet to compete in conference play. If Dyson can pitch six innings of quality baseball, I really like Carolina's chances in this one. GO COCKS!