Postseason journey begins here for USC baseball

To say there were a lot of disappointed fans at the end of South Carolina’s last baseball season in June would be an understatement.

The Gamecocks were eliminated in the NCAA regional at Carolina Stadium by Maryland – the earliest postseason departure since the 2009 season. Coming two seasons after a three-year run to the College World Series finals, when they won a pair of national championships, the finish was jarring for a program that has made a habit of Super Regional and CWS appearances since 2000.

“With the way our season ended last year, it’s been a long offseason,” USC coach Chad Holbrook said. “The kids are anxious to get on the field. The coaches are anxious to get on the field.”

Holbrook, who joined Ray Tanner in Columbia for the 2009 season as an assistant before taking over as coach for the 2013 season, understands how tough the task is as fall practice starts Friday. But he’s not afraid of the challenge.

“It’s very difficult to get to where we want to go. It’s not easy to get to the College World Series. You have to beat some awfully good teams,” he said. “As I said when I took this job three years ago, I embraced the expectations this program has, and I think our players do. You don’t come to South Carolina to either coach or play and not be expected to compete for championships.”

He was proud of his team’s 42-14 record in the regular season, which included a top-four finish in the SEC despite a string of injuries to key performers. But a two-and-out performance in the conference tournament and a 2-2 mark in the NCAA tournament abruptly brought the season to a halt.

“I’m also smart enough to realize that you’re not judged at South Carolina by what you did in the regular season,” Holbrook said. “The postseason is where it counts and where you’re judged, and rightfully so. We didn’t play well in the postseason at all.”

The Gamecocks, who have won 40 or more games and reached the NCAA tournament in 15 consecutive seasons, had gotten used to winning in the postseason in Tanner’s final seasons with Holbrook at his side, as they established NCAA records with 22 consecutive postseason wins and 12 consecutive wins in the CWS from 2010 to 2012.

The players are ready to experience another postseason run. Junior second baseman Max Schrock, who hit .299 last season with five homers and 20 RBIs despite battling a string of injuries much of the year, is ready to get started.

“Obviously, last year did not end the way we wanted,” Schrock said. “I think that will give us some motivation coming into this year, and even going into the fall, to get after it and try to make improvements on some things we didn’t do so well last year.”

Junior left-hander Jack Wynkoop, who went 7-6 with a 2.86 ERA last season, will front the weekend rotation along with sophomore right-hander Wil Crowe. Wynkoop believes the Gamecocks have the right mindset as fall scrimmages begin.

“It’s a fresh start. This summer, everybody probably had in the back of their minds that we didn’t accomplish the goals we wanted,” Wynkoop said. “That sort of fueled us a little bit. There’s really good energy in the locker room, there’s really good energy in the weight room. I feel really good with everything we’re doing on the field (in individual drills).”

USC lost six juniors to the professional ranks in the MLB draft: catcher Grayson Greiner, left-hander Jordan Montgomery, closer Joel Seddon, center fielder Tanner English, third baseman Joey Pankake and reliever Evan Beal. But first baseman Kyle Martin, who was drafted by the Angels in the 20th round, decided to return for his senior season – a big boost offensively and defensively.

Martin and Schrock are joined by junior shortstop Marcus Mooney and third baseman D.C. Arendas. Senior Connor Bright and sophomore Gene Cone are expected to anchor the outfield.

“We’ve got good guys coming back. K-Mart is a really big addition since he didn’t go after the draft. Our infield is going to be strong,” said Crowe, who went 8-3 with a 2.75 ERA. “The pitchers (who posted a 2.43 ERA last season) have got to keep it up and make sure we’re still throwing the way we always have. We feel like we’re a good team. We feel like we can make it a long way.”

Key freshmen include left-handed pitcher/designated hitter Alex Destino, catcher Hunter Taylor, outfielder Clark Scolamiero, right-handed pitcher Brandon Murray, infielder Madison Stokes, and right-handed pitcher Clarke Schmidt. Catcher Jared Martin is an important junior-college transfer.

“We’ve got a core group of older guys and experienced guys still on this team, and we’ve got a great crop of guys coming in,” Schrock said. “There’s a lot of talent in that freshman class, and some of them are going to come in and make an impact.”

The Gamecocks must find a new catcher and a new closer while discovering chemistry along the way.

“We’re going to have a lot of new faces around here this fall fighting for positions,” Holbrook said. “There’s going to be a lot of competition and some important roles to be defined.”

Bright believes that push can only make this team better as it prepares for the spring.

“We’re tired of thinking about what happened last year. It’s a new beginning here,” Bright said. “We gave a lot of new faces in the locker room. There are a lot of guys trying to prove themselves, which is a good thing.”

Holbrook is convinced this group could go back to their winning ways in the postseason.

“We have a team that’s talented enough this year to get back there (to Omaha),” he said. “We have a team talented enough to compete for championships.”

This story was originally published September 18, 2014 at 8:53 PM.