The South Carolina Gamecocks came to Omaha last season and made history, winning the school’s first national championship in baseball and effectively closing the longtime home of the College World Series. Now, head coach Ray Tanner brings a team full of familiar names and faces back to Omaha, where they’ll defend their championship and help open the new CWS digs at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.
Neil White (@gogamecocks on Twitter) covers the Gamecocks for The State in Columbia. After dissecting last year’s USC team before they took home the national title, White joins us again this summer to talk about Tanner’s team — and their chances of repeating as champs.
Adam Streur/White & Blue Review
White & Blue Review: Casual CWS fans in Omaha have found memories of last year’s South Carolina team. How much of that momentum carried over to the start of the 2011 season? How did this team perform early on with the proverbial target on its back?
Neil White: Winning the national championship last season definitely served as a springboard for South Carolina. The Gamecocks played with great confidence all season, which can be directly attributed to their run in Omaha. They returned a veteran everyday lineup that took the field each game with the attitude that they expected to win. The team got out of the gates strong and carried that momentum all the way through the season by winning a share of the regular-season SEC championship with Florida and Vanderbilt. With five consecutive postseason wins — combined with the final six in the 2010 CWS — they’ve won 11 in a row in NCAA Tournament play. They also are 50-14 heading into this season’s CWS, the sixth time in school history that they’ve won at least 50 games.
WBR: After hurting his wrist diving for a ball against Mississippi State in late April, it looked as though Jackie Bradley Jr. had played his last game for USC. But it seems he might get a chance to play in the CWS, one year after turning heads during the Gamecocks’ national title run as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Will he make Ray Tanner’s roster as a pinch-runner and bench outfielder?
NW: Expect Bradley, who hurt his wrist diving for a fly ball on April 23 and hasn’t played since, to be placed on the team’s 27-player roster. Although his wrist may not healthy enough to allow him to swing the bat, he would be available as a defensive replacement in the late innings or as a pinch-runner. Coach Ray Tanner said that Bradley would not start, but he would likely play in some form. Bradley, a supplemental first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox, said this week that he hoped to get back on the field in a USC uniform again. He’s going to let the pain be his guide on how much he’ll be able to do.
WBR: Who has picked up the slack for Bradley Jr.? Who makes this team one of the nation’s best?
NW: Sophomore Evan Marzilli, who made the CWS all-tournament team in 2010, moved over from left field to center to take over for Bradley. Marzilli has shown excellent speed and range while continuing to swing the bat very well. With regular right-fielder Adam Matthews also out for an extended period with a hamstring injury, the Gamecocks have used Jake Williams in right and pitcher Steven Neff in left. Both have come up big at times as well, although Matthews also is now healthy enough to return to the lineup, which gives Tanner some options that he didn’t have a month ago.
WBR: Marzilli, Scott Wingo, Christian Walker, Brady Thomas, Adrian Morales, and Robert Beary all made crucial plays during last year’s national championship run for Tanner and the Gamecocks. They were all in the starting lineup against UConn when USC clinched the Super Regional. What’s the leadership been like from those guys and others such as Michael Roth?
NW: All of them have shown strong leadership this season, especially Wingo, Morales, and Thomas. Wingo, who scored the winning run in the 2-1 national championship game against UCLA last season, improved greatly from an offensive standpoint and made the All-SEC first team. Morales and Thomas have played well and provided steadiness in the middle of the batting order. Beary has provided versatility by playing outfield when Bradley and Matthews were out and playing catcher now that Thomas is banged up with a foot injury. Walker, who will play for Team USA this summer, has simply been the most consistent hitter all season with a .359 average, 10 homers and 60 RBIs, all team highs.
WBR: Speaking of Roth, he’s been terrific as this year’s ace (13-3, 1.02 ERA). What kind of stuff does he have? What kind of pitcher is he?
NW: Roth got his first opportunity as a starter last season in the CWS, where he defeated Clemson in an elimination game and posted a strong outing in the title game against UCLA. The junior left-hander made the leap to full-time starter this season as the Friday night ace and posted those unreal numbers. Using a variety of pitches and arm slots, he keeps teams off-balance with a changeup and curve. His fastball has improved, although his velocity generally sits in the 86 to 88 mph range. He relies on location and smarts to pile up the outs. Opposing players head back to the dugout often wondering how he got them out. His performance in replacing the graduated Blake Cooper as the ace has been the single most important factor in the Gamecocks returning to the CWS.
WBR: Matt Price has been great as a bullpen arm, posting 18 saves (one off the national lead). What kind of stuff does he have? How’s the bullpen stack up against others in the always-tough SEC?
NW: Price, a redshirt sophomore who was picked in the sixth round of the MLB draft, has dominating stuff, including a 92 to 94 mph fastball and a devastating slider, which has produced a 5-3 record, 2.16 ERA and 18 saves. The right-hander also was a force in the CWS last season, winning two of USC’s last three games on the way to the title. This season has been more of the same, as he and senior right-hander John Taylor (6-1, 1.27 ERA) have combined to form a potent one-two punch in the late innings of games, including 129 strikeouts in 113 2/3 innings. South Carolina’s bullpen has been one of its strengths all season. The 46-0 record with a lead after eight innings is the best indication of that.
WBR: The last team to win consecutive College World Series titles was Oregon State. What has to happen for the Gamecocks to successfully defend their 2010 title and win the 2011 CWS?
NW: The Gamecocks will need to use the same formula that carried them to the championship last season and all through this season — great pitching, strong defense, and timely hitting. They’re not going to overpower teams. They just find ways to win. If they can keep things close in late innings, they’re tough to beat, as SEC regular-season series wins over Florida and Vanderbilt proved. They won both series clinchers because they hung tough and scratched out enough runs to beat teams that had more firepower. It’s impossible to say if they can do what Oregon State did a few years ago, but they’re not going to give up the title easily.