Why South Carolina baseball's 2023 season journey shows promise for the future

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The ending was disappointing, but South Carolina baseball's still had its most successful season in five years under coach Mark Kingston: 42 wins, the best SEC record and the first super regional berth since 2018

Even after getting swept in the NCAA Tournament super regional by Florida, Kingston felt certain South Carolina (42-21) would have made the College World Series had it faced anyone but the No. 2 seed Gators (50-15). Star pitcher Hurston Waldrep tossed 13 strikeouts and allowed three hits over eight innings Saturday in Florida's 4-0 win.

"(Waldrep) would have beat anybody in the country today," Kingston said. "He was as good in that situation as anybody I've seen in maybe 20 years ... Disappointed we won't be the team going to Omaha, but it wasn't for lack of fight. We're one of the best teams in the country, and we just ran into a buzz saw."

This season was a journey for the Gamecocks, who came into it with enormous pressure to redeem a below .500 record after missing the NCAA Tournament in 2022. They hit high after high early, from winning a series with rival Clemson, to sweeping their first two SEC series, to scoring 13 runs against LSU and ace Paul Skenes.

Then came the lows: Four straight SEC series losses to end the regular season, a premature exit from the SEC Tournament, injuries to ace Will Sanders and multiple starting infielders. As much as untimely struggles came to define the season, the Gamecocks look back without regrets. Starting pitcher Jack Mahoney, who is bound for the MLB Draft, said USC never wavered in its support for each other.

"I don't think I'll ever really know what this team meant to me," Mahoney said. "It's truly nothing I've ever experienced before. I was part of group where, the only voice that mattered was the voice inside our building ... Sometimes it gets a little rough around here when you're losing, and we didn't care ... This team played with our heart. We played emotional, and I think that's why this sucks so bad."

Kingston's biggest takeaway from this season was the importance of joy, even amid the rollercoaster. He tried to de-emphasize the stakes, both internal and external, and allow the team to simply have fun playing baseball.

"I made a concerted effort this year to make sure I pushed these guys, but also allowed them to have fun much more than I ever have," Kingston said. "I encouraged them to love on each other and encouraged them to enjoy the process more than I ever have, and along the way they helped me do the same."

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South Carolina's losses will be significant in 2024, but the Gamecocks also have an impressive returning core headlined by freshman star Ethan Petry. The 6-foot-4 right fielder was named a Collegiate Baseball All-American, won SEC Freshman of the Year and ranks No. 14 in the nation with 23 home runs. Freshman Will Tippett earned spots in the starting lineup at both second base and center field, and sophomore catcher Cole Messina had a breakout season, earning first-team All-SEC honors behind a .307 batting average and 17 home runs.

"You look out on the field and have so many returning guys — and so many returning leaders," Mahoney said. "I think in this day and age, programs fall into a lull of upperclassmen having to lead, and that wasn't the case here. Ethan Petry hit .376 as a freshman in college in the SEC. That doesn't happen very often. Cole Messina, Talmadge (LeCroy), Tippett — you can't explain how hard it was, what Tippett did for us this year. The future is very bright, and I'm honored to have been a part of that."

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina baseball's journey in 2023 a good sign for future