Shaving is out, wins are in for USC baseball

SOUTH CAROLINA coach Chad Holbrook sat at the podium after Sunday’s 6-4, 10-inning win against Kentucky and stated that he felt terrible.

Not about the dramatic victory or sweeping the season’s first SEC series, of course. He was talking about the stubble on his face, which he acknowledged as unprofessional. But then he smiled and said that if he shaved, his players would be mad at him.

Holbrook was last spotted with a smooth face coming off a series loss to rival Clemson two weeks ago. The Gamecocks (17-3) since have reeled off 10 straight wins, and the coach sees no reason to shave until the streak ends.

“We try to have fun. I want the players to have fun when they play,” he said. “And when things are going good, we’re going to keep doing the same thing we’ve been doing.”

The Gamecocks also started taking pregame infield and outfield practice before games after the last loss to Clemson – something they haven’t done often in recent years – and they’ve continued to do that for 10 straight games.

All the questions that surfaced after the Clemson series are beginning to melt away. People wondered about how well this team would hit. They wondered about leaders stepping forward. They wondered about the chemistry of this group.

But after three hard-fought victories against the Wildcats – which included huge home runs from Max Schrock, Alex Destino, Elliott Caldwell and Kyle Martin and great pitching from Wil Crowe and Jack Wynkoop – the leadership is showing. And they’re playing with a relaxed confidence that has characterized the USC teams of the past five seasons.

Staying loose and having fun? Oh, yeah.

In Sunday’s postgame news conference, Wynkoop and Crowe showed up in the interview room to quiz Martin on why he tried to bunt on the first pitch of the 10th-inning at-bat where he would later hit the walk-off two-run homer. Martin, laughing, then gave an answer like he would have to an actual media member.

That’s not to say that this team isn’t a work in progress. The infield defense, presumed to be a team strength, continues to be erratic. The infielders, who are all good defenders, will mix in standout plays with errors on routine balls.

Shortstop Jordan Gore, who has a cannon for an arm, made five errors over the weekend series. Holbrook loves Gore’s fire and emotion but notes that he can get too mad at himself when he doesn’t make a play.

“There are a lot of things for us to work on and shore up, but we have the makings of a good solid team,” Holbrook said.

He also was heartened by the way freshman right-hander Clarke Schmidt pitched Sunday in his first SEC start. Outings like that one, when Schmidt allowed two runs in 62/3 innings, will keep him in the No. 3 spot in the weekend rotation. And while closer Taylor Widener did not display his usual overpowering stuff, he stayed composed enough to pick up a save and a win in the past two games.

The winning streak has produced a couple of parallels to the 2010 season, when the Gamecocks won their first national championship. That was the last season they jumped to a 3-0 start in the SEC. And that was the last time they lost a regular-season series to Clemson.

That year, the Gamecocks bounced back from that series loss to their rival by winning 13 straight. This year, the streak is 10 as they head into a midweek home game against Winthrop and a weekend road series against Missouri.

As long as it stays alive, Holbrook’s razor will stay in the medicine cabinet.

This story was originally published March 16, 2015 at 10:57 PM.