Gamecock offense struggles

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Posted 5:46PM on Thursday, May 19, 2005

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Swing and a miss. It's a phrase coach Ray Tanner has probably heard more often and felt the frustration of more acutely the past month than in his previous five seasons as South Carolina continues to struggle at the plate and in the Southeastern Conference standings. ``I haven't done a good job with it, I wouldn't lead you to believe otherwise,'' Tanner said Thursday. Since getting tabbed as SEC Eastern Division preseason favorites and staying in the top 10 for the first two months of the year, the bottom has dropped out for the Gamecocks (34-19). They were 28-5 on April 13 after sweeping mighty LSU at its place. But South Carolina has gone just 6-14 since. Worse yet, the offense can't get much going. Last weekend in losing two of three at Ole Miss, the Gamecocks were 20 of 100 at the plate with 36 strikeouts. It's batting average is .278, the lowest at this point since 1995, two seasons before Tanner arrived. Shortstop Steven Tolleson remembered during winter workouts when Tanner said the Gamecocks had a chance to be one of the best offensive clubs he ever coached. ``If you watched us play lately, statistically, it's probably one of the worst,'' Tolleson, a junior, said. ``But that's baseball. It's tough on you mentally, especially the way we've been playing.'' Despite the problems, the Gamecocks can win a spot into the field of eight for the SEC tournament next week at Hoover, Ala., probably by winning two out of three from the league's last place team, Kentucky (29-24), at Sarge Frye Field this weekend. But as tightly bunched as things are in the SEC this season, South Carolina could finish anywhere from a tie for fourth to 10th depending on how the final baseball weekend plays out around the league. ``I don't know everything, I don't know what's going to happen,'' Tolleson said. ``But (winning) two out of three, a lot of things would have to happen for us not to make'' the SEC tournament. The power outage is more of a surprise considering the Gamecocks' recent history under Tanner. They've batted at least .286 as a team each year since 2000 when they've been the winningest team in the country with 260 victories in that stretch. They've hit better than 100 homers in four of those five seasons and, with a current total of 62 homers, would need a major surge to make it five of six. Tanner says he jumped on players early when the bats didn't click. He's gone through adjustments in stance, grip and changing lineups. Now, he's hopeful that players' skills will come through when the Gamecocks need it most. ``You think back and, woulda, coulda, shoulda, we sort of look at it as an offensive situation. We haven't gotten the bats going,'' Tanner said. ``That being said, we're only four or five games from where we should be, although it feels like 24 or 25.'' The poor stretch has likely cost South Carolina a chance to hold an opening NCAA tournament regional at Sarge Frye. ``I just don't see how (hosting) can happen,'' Tanner said. But location's not everything. Two years ago, South Carolina traveled to Georgia Tech for an NCAA regional and won the four-team bracket. The Gamecocks returned home for an NCAA super regional and advanced to the College World Series, part of their three trips there from 2002-04. ``We've never been in this position before,'' senior righty starter Aaron Rawl said. ``We have to work a little bit this year. But I think we can turn it around and get it going.'' Not that the Gamecocks haven't tried. As a freshman, Tolleson remembered when the team had a bonfire to burn away all the things like bats, cleats and gloves they thought kept them from success. Last week, during a long rain delay against Wofford, Tolleson said the players cleaned up the locker room, rearranging furniture and vacuuming the carpet to change their luck. The team broke out in a 12-0 victory, its highest output since a 17-2 win over Georgia on April 2. However, the Gamecocks managed only 13 runs their next four games. Tanner's confident his guys will find their stroke before it's too late. As far as anything drastic, Tanner says he's not that kind of guy. ``I'm changing my underwear and my socks,'' Tanner said. ``I'm not like some guys.'' Guys who'll do anything to snap a slump. (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)