By Jack Veltri
Correspondent
The decision was easy. Catawba Ridge head baseball coach Stas Swerdzewski didn’t put much thought into it. He knew exactly what recent grad Jake McCoy could do on the mound when it mattered the most.
“Knew that if we got to a game three in that state championship series, we were going to be in pretty good shape having him on the mound,” Swerdzewski said. “Jake was, obviously, one of the horses on the mound for us this year. But we had a lot of good pitchers, too, that helped us get there. But I mean, having him going in game three, there was no hesitation whatsoever. It was going to be him out there. And we were hoping he could give us a good start, which he did. I just felt very, very confident going into game three, having him on the mound.”
With the Copperheads’ season hanging in the balance, playing a winner-take-all state championship game, McCoy made the start and delivered. He pitched six innings of three-run ball and struck out nine. As a result, it would be enough to guide Catawba Ridge to the 4A state baseball title defeating North Myrtle Beach, 7-3 in game three.
McCoy finished his senior year 8-2 and 1.65 ERA. He struck out 105 with 27 hits and 30 walks allowed in 55.1 innings pitched.
And that’s what South Carolina will be hoping to get out of him next season. McCoy announced Saturday, July 22, that he would be committing to the Gamecocks. It’s a big addition for a pitching staff that only has one left-hander, Matthew Becker, that has thrown meaningful innings at South Carolina.
With this in mind, it could lead to McCoy pitching right away in Columbia. Although he’d be a freshman, Swerdzewski believes he’s ready for it.
“I think he’ll go and pitch right away at South Carolina,” he said. “South Carolina ended up losing some key arms in the draft. And they were definitely in need of an arm. Jake has been a top-flight arm in the state throughout his last two years.”
As for what Gamecock fans can expect out of the 6-foot-1, 185-pound lefty, Swerdzewksi said his work ethic is “tremendous.”
“He’s like most freshmen,” Swerdzewski said. “He’s a little bit small in stature, but he had a great arm. I think Jake will tell you that one of the huge game-changing things in his development was his work ethic in the weight room.
“We’ve got a really good strength coach. He’s been huge for us in developing all of our athletes and getting them bigger, faster, stronger and better. That’s been a huge piece. And Jake’s definitely benefited from that, and his work ethic has been tremendous. He’s earned every single bit of every achievement that he’s gotten.”
While Swerdzewski admitted McCoy is better known for his arm, he happens to be a pretty good hitter as well. He hit .300 with six homers, 20 RBI and 14 stolen bases this past season.
“He was a key bat in our lineup, he batted leadoff for much of the year,” he said. “Jake is a great athlete, like he is an outstanding athlete. I mean, he’s one of the fastest runners on our team. He was one of our best outfielders. He has lots of power at the plate.”
Making the jump from high school to college will have its challenges, especially in a conference as good as the SEC. But for McCoy to be successful, Swerdzewski said he needs to trust in his preparation.
“I just think he needs to continue to be a confident kid,” Swerdzewski said. “When Jake has ever struggled, and I think he would agree with this, especially when he was a JV player for me, you could just really see the confidence grow as the years went by.
“Trust the process, as they say, and what he’s done up to this point has gotten him to this point. So, I don’t think he really needs to change anything. I think he just needs to have confidence and go out there and attack hitters and realize that, my stuff is good. And I’m just gonna go out there and really try to attack hitters.”
