Coastal Carolina must fill holes year after national title

Fri., Feb. 10, 2017

By Eric Olson Associated Press

LUKEN BAKER, TCU, So., IF: Hit seven of team-leading 11 homers in postseason. The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder led Big 12 with .379 batting average, 94 hits, 59 runs and 62 RBIs. Was 3-1 with 1.70 ERA before injuring arm in April. Expected to be first baseman and designated hitter and won’t pitch this season.

SETH BEER, Clemson, So., IF: Became first freshman to win the Dick Howser Trophy as national player of the year. First baseman also was Golden Spikes Award finalist. ACC player of the year batted .369 with 13 doubles, 18 homers, 70 RBIs and had a .700 slugging percentage.

J.B. BUKAUSKAS, North Carolina, Jr., RHP: Went 7-2 with 3.10 ERA, including 6-2 with 2.45 ERA in 10 ACC starts. Ranked third in nation with 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings. Allowed one unearned run in 21 2/3 innings on U.S. college national team last summer.

CARLOS CORTES, South Carolina, Fr., OF/DH: One of the top high school players in Florida (Oviedo) last season. The 5-7, 195-pounder is ambidextrous, throwing with right hand when playing infield and with left hand when playing outfield.

COLTON EASTMAN, Cal State Fullerton, So., RHP: Big West freshman of the year heads a strong group of starters for Titans. Went 8-3 with 2.24 ERA and struck out a freshman school record-tying 100 in 100 2/3 innings.

ALEX FAEDO, Florida, Jr. RHP: Went 13-3 with 3.18 ERA in 17 starts, including 7-1 in SEC play. His 133 strikeouts in 104 2/3 innings were most by a Florida pitcher in 18 years. Had five 10-plus strikeout games.

JEREN KENDALL, Vanderbilt, Jr., OF: No. 1 college player, and No. 2 overall, on MLB.com’s list of top 50 draft prospects. Led team with .332 batting average, 63 runs and 59 RBIs. Tied school record with eight triples and hit career-high nine homers.

NICK MADRIGAL, Oregon State, So., IF: Pac-12 freshman of the year. The 5-7, 161-pounder batted .333 with 11 doubles, five triples, one homer and 29 RBIs. Played second base in 2016 but goes into week of opener competing for SS job.

BRENDAN McKAY, Louisville, Jr. IF /LHP: The first baseman-pitcher is two-time winner of John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year. Lefty was 12-4 with 2.30 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 17 starts. Batted .333 with six home runs, 19 doubles and 41 RBIs.

OMAHA, Neb. – Eight months later, Coastal Carolina’s surprise run to the national championship in its first College World Series appearance still resonates in eastern South Carolina.

“It not only has changed our program, it’s changed our university,” coach Gary Gilmore said. “I’ve been here 21 years, and at no time have I seen groups of people so proud to wear our gear, put our sticker on their car. You go to Wal-Mart and there are 10 or 12 people walking around with our gear on where in the past it’s been all Clemson and South Carolina stuff.”

All those new fans, along with the old ones, want to know what the Chanticleers will do for an encore. Coastal Carolina led the nation with 96 home runs last season, and players accounting for 79 of them are gone. Only three everyday players are back, but the weekend rotation returns, including CWS Most Outstanding Player Andrew Beckwith. So does star reliever Bobby Holmes.

“The expectations are every bit equal to last year,” Gilmore said. “The way we have to go about it may be a little bit different as far as how we put our team together and what the team’s skill sets allow us to do. The goal is the same. It’s to get back to Omaha. The one thing I did find out is that if you get there, anything can happen.”

Seth Lancaster, who missed the CWS after getting hurt in super regionals, moves from second base to third. He hit seven home runs, most of any returning player.

“We’re not going to hit 108 home runs,” Gilmore said, “but I think we’ll hit more than people give us credit for.”

The Chanticleers plan to be more aggressive on the bases. Billy Cooke is back after stealing a team-leading 27 bases. The Chanticleers finished with 112, and Gilmore said this team should be capable of 150.

Beckwith (15-1, 1.85 ERA) led the nation in wins, threw two complete games in the CWS and was the winner in the title-clinching victory against Arizona. Alex Cunningham (10-4, 3.62) and Jason Bilous (3-1, 4.43) are the other weekend starters. Holmes (7-2, 4.20) is the bullpen ace.

Newcomers Wood Myers at second base, Jordan Gore at shortstop and Cory Wood in left field will join the lineup. Myers played at a junior college last season after spending two years at North Carolina, Gore transferred from South Carolina and Wood was one of the top high school players in North Carolina last year.

The Chanticleers will play their first season in the Sun Belt Conference after moving from the Big South.

“We can’t come out and play passive and say, `Hey, we did this last year so it’s going to be given to us,’ “ Beckwith said. “Everyone is going to (target) us. I think the Sun Belt is a little bit better competition, and our guys need to embrace it.”

Some things to know:

New coaches

There are 30 new head coaches in Division I. Most notable are David Pierce at Texas, Greg Goff at Alabama, Steve Bieser at Missouri, Nick Mingione at Kentucky, Travis Jewett at Tulane, Lane Burroughs at Louisiana Tech, Greg Lovelady at UCF and Mark Wasikowski at Purdue.

Marquess’ finale

Mark Marquess will retire after this season, his 41st at Stanford. He has 1,585 career wins, and his team is picked second behind Oregon State in the Pac-12. Marquess won national titles in 1987-88 and has led the Cardinal to the CWS 14 times, most recently in 2008.

Active wins leader

Mike Martin, entering his 38th season at Florida State, takes over for Augie Garrido as the active career wins leader. Martin has 1,898. Garrido had an all-time record of 1,975 in 48 seasons. He coached the past 20 at Texas before being reassigned as special assistant to the athletic director last May.

More offense

The 2016 team average of 0.61 home runs per game was highest since 2010, team scoring of 5.57 runs a game was highest since 2011 and the team batting average of .275 was highest since 2012. The national fielding percentage of .967 was the best since at least 1970.

Best nonconference series

Stanford at Cal State Fullerton, Feb. 17-19; Miami at Florida, Feb. 24-26; Maryland at LSU, Feb. 24-26; South Carolina at Clemson, March 3-5; Stanford at Rice, March 9-12; Florida State vs. Florida – March 14 at Gainesville, March 28 at Tallahassee and April 11 at Gainesville.