A Stark Contrast On The Same Campus
posted by Scott Hood on Monday, February 25, 2008
Here’s the primary difference between the clubs as I see it – the baseball team finds new and interesting ways to win games, while the basketball team seemingly invents a new way each time they take the court to lose games.
The baseball opened the 2008 season this weekend with a three-game series against a respectable opponent – East Carolina – at Sarge Frye Field. After a rainout on Friday, USC pounded the Pirates in the opener, 22-5, Saturday afternoon before ECU returned the favor hours later with a 13-4 victory.
So, with the series tied at 1-1, whoever won Sunday’s game would win the series and, with hundreds of purple-clad ECU fans in the stands, bragging rights as well.
USC fell behind early, 4-1, before rallying to take a 5-4 lead on a pair of two-run homers by Whit Merrifield and Justin Smoak by the seventh.
ECU scored a run to tie the game in the ninth inning but had the go-ahead run 90 feet away. But he didn’t score and the game headed to extra innings.
USC had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 10th inning but couldn’t push the run across.
ECU scored a run in the top of the 11th to take a 6-5 lead. What did USC do? They simply went out in the bottom half of the inning and scored twice to win the game.
Why? Because that’s what winning programs with winning mentalities do.
The final at-bat of the game by Kyle Enders exemplified what I'm talking about. He was down 1-2 in the count but refused to give in to the ECU pitcher. He fouled off several pitches until he delivered the winning hit.
When we talked to the players afterwards, not a single one thought USC would lose that game. They believed they would win, even when they were down a run in extra innings.
They knew that somehow, someway USC would get the job done.
And so they won.
Now, contrast what happened Sunday afternoon at Sarge Frye Field with the events that transpired Saturday at the Colonial Center.
USC was ahead by three points with just seconds remaining. But, thanks largely to some defensive blunders by the Gamecocks, Mississippi State quickly got the ball up the floor and into the hands of one of its best outside shooters.
There was a shooting foul committed beyond the arc with just over a second left. The Bulldogs hit all three free throws and went on to win, 61-56, in overtime.
Frankly, all USC had to do to win the game is duplicate what Florida did to the Gamecocks last Wednesday night in Gainesville. Foul in the open court and force the Bulldogs to go to the line for two free throws.
The Gators executed the plan perfectly. Devan Downey was fouled while racing up the court and missed the front end off a 1-and-1 situation. Florida rebounded and ran out the clock to finish off a 85-82 victory.
What did USC do when they had the opportunity to do the same thing? They screwed it up. So, they walked off the court with another disheartening loss.
As times goes on, I’m more and more convinced that winning at the Division I level is as much mental as it is physical. Yeah, you can recruit the best athletes, but relying on physical talent alone leaves an important question unanswered:
Do the players believe they can win?
At this point, I think the answer is a resounding no when it comes to the USC men’s basketball team. That’s why they’ll likely finish with a regular season record under .500 and will have a short stay at the SEC Tournament in Atlanta in two weeks.
Frankly, USC has been provided plenty of chances to change their final fate this season. But the failure to execute down the stretch – either offensively or defensively or both – has cost them several games that they should have won.
As a result, the Gamecock basketball team will probably sit at home for a second consecutive post-season unless they’re invited to that hideous new third tournament created by ESPN.
Actually, the more I think about it, staying at home in late March might be a good thing for the program.
The players can head over to Sarge Frye Field and watch a team that knows how to win.
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This past weekend gave us a striking and, in many ways, disturbing contrast between the South Carolina baseball and basketball teams.
Here’s the primary difference between the clubs as I see it – the baseball team finds new and interesting ways to win games, while the basketball team seemingly invents a new way each time they take the court to lose games.
The baseball opened the 2008 season this weekend with a three-game series against a respectable opponent – East Carolina – at Sarge Frye Field. After a rainout on Friday, USC pounded the Pirates in the opener, 22-5, Saturday afternoon before ECU returned the favor hours later with a 13-4 victory.
So, with the series tied at 1-1, whoever won Sunday’s game would win the series and, with hundreds of purple-clad ECU fans in the stands, bragging rights as well.
USC fell behind early, 4-1, before rallying to take a 5-4 lead on a pair of two-run homers by Whit Merrifield and Justin Smoak by the seventh.
ECU scored a run to tie the game in the ninth inning but had the go-ahead run 90 feet away. But he didn’t score and the game headed to extra innings.
USC had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 10th inning but couldn’t push the run across.
ECU scored a run in the top of the 11th to take a 6-5 lead. What did USC do? They simply went out in the bottom half of the inning and scored twice to win the game.
Why? Because that’s what winning programs with winning mentalities do.
The final at-bat of the game by Kyle Enders exemplified what I'm talking about. He was down 1-2 in the count but refused to give in to the ECU pitcher. He fouled off several pitches until he delivered the winning hit.
When we talked to the players afterwards, not a single one thought USC would lose that game. They believed they would win, even when they were down a run in extra innings.
They knew that somehow, someway USC would get the job done.
And so they won.
Now, contrast what happened Sunday afternoon at Sarge Frye Field with the events that transpired Saturday at the Colonial Center.
USC was ahead by three points with just seconds remaining. But, thanks largely to some defensive blunders by the Gamecocks, Mississippi State quickly got the ball up the floor and into the hands of one of its best outside shooters.
There was a shooting foul committed beyond the arc with just over a second left. The Bulldogs hit all three free throws and went on to win, 61-56, in overtime.
Frankly, all USC had to do to win the game is duplicate what Florida did to the Gamecocks last Wednesday night in Gainesville. Foul in the open court and force the Bulldogs to go to the line for two free throws.
The Gators executed the plan perfectly. Devan Downey was fouled while racing up the court and missed the front end off a 1-and-1 situation. Florida rebounded and ran out the clock to finish off a 85-82 victory.
What did USC do when they had the opportunity to do the same thing? They screwed it up. So, they walked off the court with another disheartening loss.
As times goes on, I’m more and more convinced that winning at the Division I level is as much mental as it is physical. Yeah, you can recruit the best athletes, but relying on physical talent alone leaves an important question unanswered:
Do the players believe they can win?
At this point, I think the answer is a resounding no when it comes to the USC men’s basketball team. That’s why they’ll likely finish with a regular season record under .500 and will have a short stay at the SEC Tournament in Atlanta in two weeks.
Frankly, USC has been provided plenty of chances to change their final fate this season. But the failure to execute down the stretch – either offensively or defensively or both – has cost them several games that they should have won.
As a result, the Gamecock basketball team will probably sit at home for a second consecutive post-season unless they’re invited to that hideous new third tournament created by ESPN.
Actually, the more I think about it, staying at home in late March might be a good thing for the program.
The players can head over to Sarge Frye Field and watch a team that knows how to win.
- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.