The 16th ranked USC baseball team won its 7th straight game last night, defeating Davidson 8-3. The win improves the Gamecocks record to 13-4 as they get ready to open SEC play this weekend against Tennessee.
Ray Tanner discusses Davidson win
It does look like Carolina is starting to put things together. Ray Tanner has had to shake up his lineup quite a bit because of injuries and still his team has found a way to string together some wins. Many Gamecock fans were concerned with the team following the Clemson series that ended with a 19-6 Tiger win. Clemson took two of three in that series and the previous week the Gamecocks dropped two of three against East Carolina. Since those four losses the pitching staff has stabilized and the bats are starting to warm up a bit. Gamecock fans should be breathing a little easier.
Tanner still has some questions though. Does he have a reliable number three weekend starter behind Blake Cooper and Sam Dyson? Will John Taylor develop into a consistent closer? Can the team take advantage of two favorable SEC matchups in Tennessee and Auburn during the first two weekends of the season?
That is a lot of questions, I know. I think we will have most of the answers by the end of the month. The Gamecocks need to take two of three against Tennessee and two of three at Auburn. A sweep against either one of those teams is not out of the question either, although just winning the series in league play is a more realistic goal. If they do that and handle the non-conference games at Georgia Southern and home to the Citadel, it will be safe to assume this team has a chance to make some noise.
