Gamecock Digest

Ethan Petry, Cole Messina Discuss How Petry Has Improved Over The Offseason

Two of the biggest stars on South Carolina's baseball team talked to the media on Thursday about one of the respective players' offseason progression.

Andrew Lyon

Ethan Petry, Cole Messina Discuss How Petry Has Improved Over The Offseason
Ethan Petry, Cole Messina Discuss How Petry Has Improved Over The Offseason /

A batting average of .376. An OPS (on-base + slugging percentage) of 1.204. A gaudy homerun count of 23 and 75 total runs batted in. That was the stat line that Ethan Petry, a sophomore and All-American outfielder for South Carolina, put together in his freshman campaign last Spring.

Now, after taking the SEC and college baseball world by storm in 2023, the Florida native is looking to build off last year's record-breaking season and get better as a player. You might wonder, 'Is there even a way a player with those stats can get better?'

Gamecock head coach Mark Kingston and his staff believe so, and one of Petry's teammates, fellow preseason All-American and junior catcher Cole Messina, said this past Thursday to the media that he's already seen tremendous growth off the field from Ethan.

"Definitely like how he prepares. I think his maturity levels. I think like the conversations we have on a day-to-day basis, like I can just see that he's growing up like right before my eyes, honestly," Cole explained. "How he talks about his at-bats, [and] how he talks about his process is just super mature."

When Ethan was asked about his plate approach, he highlighted one aspect of his game that last season, especially when South Carolina was riddled with injuries, hit a bit of a "freshman wall."

"We've been working really hard on discipline, laying off that inside pitch that you know, may get me jammed. It's because I have really long levers, and if I lay off that pitch and eventually get my pitch out over the plate where I hit the best, it's just no telling what happens."

With how hot Petry's bat last season, the Gamecock coaching staff had no choice but to keep him in the lineup, so the then-freshman slide out into the right field spot, where he's looking to improve the most.

"Me and [Coach] Joey Holcomb. He came in this year, and he's worked really hard with me on defense in the Fall, and I've worked on getting better range out there. I've gained a little bit more weight. I'm like 240 now, which is not much weight, but you know, I can still move a little bit for my size."

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Andrew Lyon
ANDREW LYON

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