2016 Season Recap

The 2016 South Carolina baseball team started the season 10-0 before losing a crucial series to Clemson. There were times during the season where the Gamecocks looked unbeatable. Even without phenom pitcher Wil Crowe, the Gamecocks rotation held their own throughout the season giving the team a chance to win each night. Chad Holbrook’s squad overcame a first game loss in the regional to earn a spot in the Super Regionals. Unfortunately, a hot Oklahoma State pitching rotation was too strong for South Carolina to move on.

Alex Destino was the team’s most consistent hitter leading the team in HR’s (10) and RBI’s (59). Weekend starters Braden Webb and Clarke Schmidt led the way in strike outs with 128 and 129, respectively. Out of the bullpen, Josh Reagan and Tyler Johnson pitched fantastic down the stretch combining for 20 saves on the season. The 2016 season finished in disappointed because of the way it finished against Oklahoma State, but the Gamecocks have tons of talent returning in 2017 that are capable of contending for a College World Series.

Destino Looks to Continue 2016 Success

Alex Destino is coming off a fantastic 2016 campaign where he batted .321 with 10 HR and 59 RBI. South Carolina will be without Dom Thompson Williams and Gene Cone in 2017, setting the stage for Destino. Several players that will be in Holbrook’s Opening Day lineup have seen limited playing time. The inexperience in the lineup will most likely lead to teams trying to pitch around Destino. If the players in the top of the order can get on base consistently, Destino could easily have one of the best seasons in the SEC.

Wil Crowe Returns to Action

After a heartbreaking injury against Florida in 2015, Wil Crowe finally returns to action this season. Crowe will replace the loss of Braden Webb from the weekend rotation, and most likely upgrade it. Professional scouts are in love with Crowe and for good reason. The high 90’s fastball and devastating breaking ball are absolutely crucial to competing in the SEC. Although his stats before the injury don’t jump off the page, Crowe looks even better after having Tommy John surgery. His velocity has actually increased and his off speed pitches have impressed the coaching staff in scrimmages.

Notable Newcomers

Chad Holbrook will be looking for increased playing time from several players this season. A player everyone in Columbia is excited for is freshman Carlos Cortes. Cortes has been ranked as the 13th best freshman in the nation by Perfect Game, and the 1st best freshman in the SEC by D1Baseball. A New York Mets draft pick, Cortes will see his early action in left field. South Carolina has had a great list of terrific left-handed hitters in the past several years, and Cortes looks to have a very bright future in Columbia. Through the years, South Carolina has had guys that could play several positions in the field and struggled to hit. This is not the case with Cortes. Nearly every scouting report available on Cortes says that his ability to hit goes without question, it’s just finding a spot for him in the field.

Coach Chad Holbrook is also extremely excited about Sawyer Bridges and Jacob Olson. Bridges is a great pitching prospect out of Summerville, SC that will provide depth to go along with Josh Reagan and Tyler Johnson in the back end of the bullpen. Jacob Olson adds Dan Uggla type forearms to the lineup. In all seriousness, once Olson can find the right spot in the lineup he will be able to be another immediate contributor to a lineup filled with youth.

Important Weekends for the Gamecocks

Opening day will be an extremely important weekend for South Carolina. No matter who the opponent is, opening weekend builds the excitement for the program. The Gamecocks will have a few weeks to figure out their identity before taking on #10 Clemson on March 3rd-5th. Clemson has been a struggle for Chad Holbrook lately, and Clemson has one of the best players in the country in Seth Beer.

The next weekend featuring a ranked opponent comes on April 6-8 against #24 Vanderbilt. A ranked home series for the Gamecocks will be very timely because just a few weeks later, the Gamecocks will travel to Gainesville to take on the #2 Gators on April 20-22. On May 5-7, South Carolina will travel to Baton Rouge to take on the #4 LSU Tigers.

Lineup and Rotation Projections

Fans everywhere around Columbia know that trying to read Chad Holbrook’s mind is nearly impossible. I won’t even attempt to project a starting lineup for the Gamecocks for Friday afternoon against UNC Greensboro.

Lucky for us, Holbrook did give us the weekend rotation for this weekend against UNC Greensboro. Last season’s ace Clarke Schmidt will take the opening day privileges Friday afternoon. Returning top prospect Wil Crowe will pitch for the first time since 2015 Saturday. Finally, Adam Hill will take the mound on Sunday. Hill went 7-0 last season as a freshman.

My Season Predictions

With so many unknowns on offense, I believe that South Carolina’s depth on the mound will keep them in games with nearly anyone in the country. If the younger players on offense can build confidence during the non-conference schedule, the sky is the limit for this team.

My prediction is that the Gamecocks will repeat as SEC East champions and find their way to hosting another Super Regional. My crystal ball isn’t clear on what will happen in that Super Regional, but you can stay tuned throughout this season to get my feel on how the team is performing.

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