Former South Carolina baseball pitcher made professional debut Friday

There were six current South Carolina baseball players and class of 2024 Gamecock signees who heard their name called during the MLB Draft, and as of this writing, five of them have signed their first pro contracts. PJ Morlando (Miami Marlins), Cole Messina (Colorado Rockies), Eli Jones (Minnesota Twins), Garrett Gainey (Tampa Bay Rays), and Carson Messina (Toronto Blue Jays) are now under contract, while Brandon Clarke (Boston Red Sox) hasn't finalized a deal with his pro club yet.

Since the draft has ended, several former Gamecocks have signed other professional contracts. Chris Veach inked a deal with Major League Baseball's New York Yankees, and left-handed power hitter Dalton Reeves is now with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

Right-handed pitcher Ty Good, who began his career with the College of Charleston Cougars before finishing up his time in college with the South Carolina baseball program, is the newest member of the Florence Y'alls of the independent Frontier League (Florence, Kentucky), and on Friday, he made his team debut.

In what became a 5-3 victory for the Y'alls, Good gave his team a chance to win by holding the Sussex County Miners to 3 runs over 4 1/3 innings pitched. He pitched 4 scoreless frames prior to running into trouble in the top of the 5th inning and managed to strike out 4 batters before his day was done. He left the game with a 4-1 lead, but two inherited runners from Good found home plate against the Florence bullpen and were charged to Good's stat line.

If Good pitches well with the Y'alls, he could earn his way to an MLB contract. Former South Carolina baseball star Jackie Bradley, Jr. began the year playing independent ball for the Long Island Ducks, but after a great showing over the first half of the year, he earned a contract from the New York Mets.