For the first time in four years, the University of South Carolina baseball team will not be traveling to Omaha for the College World Series.
The Gamecocks (43-20) coughed up a two-run lead in the sixth inning of Monday’s deciding third game against No. 1 North Carolina – falling 5-4 to the Tar Heels in the NCAA Super Regional at Chapel Hill, N.C.
Junior third baseman Colin Moran – the sixth overall pick of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft – got UNC’s big inning started with an RBI triple against South Carolina reliever Adam Westmoreland. He scored to tie the game on yet another Gamecock error, while the winning run came across the plate after a Westmoreland walk.
First-year head coach Chad Holbrook’s team – which appeared to have all the momentum following Sunday’s 8-0 drubbing of the Heels – were unable to bounce back from these miscues. In fact Tar Heel ace Kent Emanuel – a third round draft pick who struggled in UNC’s 6-5 series-opening win – nailed the door shut on the Gamecocks’ season with a pair of one-pitch outs in the ninth inning.
Under former head coach (and current athletics director) Ray Tanner, USC defeating UCLA and Florida in 2010 and 2011, respectively, to capture the school’s first-ever national championships in a major sport. Last year USC came up short against Arizona in its effort to pull off the three-peat.
While some fans might be concerned by the Gamecocks’ early departure from the postseason in Holbrook’s first year as head coach, we’re not worried. Holbrook has a young team – and his players were on the road against the top-seeded program in the country (a squad stocked with future big league stars). We’re impressed with what Holbrook was able to accomplish in his first year at the helm – and look forward to big things from his program in the years to come.
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25 comments
Close games that they lost, but still a good team. Hope we get further next year! Go Cocks!
Close games that they lost, but still a good team. Hope we get further next year! Go Cocks!
Left Westmorland in too long on Saturday and on Tuesday. Bunts were ill-advised, rally killers when UNC pitcher was coming apart……
Also: SC played like it was a routine weekend series. UNC coach played like his life depended on winning that one game.
Still, better team did not win. To get stranded out of town like that for days, diminishes a team. NC would not have stood a chance on a neutral field or in Cola. If SC would have gotten a less-imposing Super, they’d be back in Omaha.
That said: The failure gives Holbrook something to work on…
Bullshit, being “stranded” doesn’t do shit. I played college ball and a layover in a hotel didn’t bother us one bit, it was better than sitting around a dorm room or apartment. You still got fed, you watched movies, you practiced. Make excuses if it makes you feel better, but that’s about all it’ll do.
Yeah, silly me. Home field advantage is just my imagination. It really does not make a difference, statistically, where you play…Dumb@$$….
PS: You emotional infants are so consumed w/ your hate for me, you make idiots of yourself with stupid comments like Squishy’s…just because he so loathes me….Let him be a lesson to all of you…
Baseball’s a funny damn game. The worst team can beat a better team on any given day.
We gave it away. Errors and hit batsmen will come back to haunt you.
Having said that, UNC is a good team that will do well in the CWS. Though they appear to be a bunch of pricks.
Appear to be?
We gave it away. Errors and hit batsmen will come back to haunt you.
Having said that, UNC is a good team that will do well in the CWS. Though they appear to be a bunch of pricks.
Appear to be?
Holbrook just doesn’t come off as a head coach. I believe we’ll see a slide before we see the results Tanner built up. I guess one clue will be to see whether or not Holbrook can bring in his own players once Tanner’s players graduate or leave the program.
Holbrook’s a failure, and you can tell for sure after one season that he loses a Super on the road…But after 5 years of Obama misery and corruption……you worship him as a president….
This is the level of intelligence we’re working with, folks…
Dude, do you bring politics into every facet of life? A thousand dollar callgirl would pass on you.
Holbrook just doesn’t come off as a head coach. I believe we’ll see a slide before we see the results Tanner built up. I guess one clue will be to see whether or not Holbrook can bring in his own players once Tanner’s players graduate or leave the program.
This team performed above my expectations this season in terms of post-season play. They are loaded with talent, and have post season experience, but are still a really young team. I think next two years they will return to being serious contenders in Omaha.
This team performed above my expectations this season in terms of post-season play. They are loaded with talent, and have post season experience, but are still a really young team. I think next two years they will return to being serious contenders in Omaha.
Carolina was lucky to get this far.The regional could have easily gone to Arkansas.Holbrook is an excellent coach,and he’s got young players who can easily fill the shoes of Carolina baseball’s best…
Carolina was lucky to get this far.The regional could have easily gone to Arkansas.Holbrook is an excellent coach,and he’s got young players who can easily fill the shoes of Carolina baseball’s best…
holbrook couldnt figure out how to manufacture runs in game 1 and game 3. twice he had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out and both times his batters were swinging for the fence and both struck out. THATS BAD COACHING. carolina was’t really that good this year: mediocre SEC campaign, terrible SEC tourney and quit a fewmidweek losses to inferior opponents and yet and still we gave it away aganst the no.1 team/ no1 overall seed. UNC IS UNIMPRESSIVE. carolina played st louis and liberty to get to the sup regional. UNIMPRESSIVE TEAMS. UNC almost lost to FAU. UNIMPRESSIVE. ACC s way overrated like always and in every sport, even basketball. i understand why ray tanner quit, but he and roth were the real keys to success. holbrook just doesn have anywere near the same magic. in fact he seems to kill the mojo. also, i dont trust hobrook as a UNC alum. you know he’ll be watching the college world series cheering liike mad for UNC. ITs like when eddie fogler publicly stated he didnt want to play UNC. ALSO, the ncaas did everything possible to help UNC’s pitchers recover and get more and more rest. AND sill we booted and fumbled both losses away. i’ll be cheering for ncstate to win the whole thing and for n carolina’s team plane to crash nto a field of dreams
holbrook couldnt figure out how to manufacture runs in game 1 and game 3. twice he had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out and both times his batters were swinging for the fence and both struck out. THATS BAD COACHING. carolina was’t really that good this year: mediocre SEC campaign, terrible SEC tourney and quit a fewmidweek losses to inferior opponents and yet and still we gave it away aganst the no.1 team/ no1 overall seed. UNC IS UNIMPRESSIVE. carolina played st louis and liberty to get to the sup regional. UNIMPRESSIVE TEAMS. UNC almost lost to FAU. UNIMPRESSIVE. ACC s way overrated like always and in every sport, even basketball. i understand why ray tanner quit, but he and roth were the real keys to success. holbrook just doesn have anywere near the same magic. in fact he seems to kill the mojo. also, i dont trust hobrook as a UNC alum. you know he’ll be watching the college world series cheering liike mad for UNC. ITs like when eddie fogler publicly stated he didnt want to play UNC. ALSO, the ncaas did everything possible to help UNC’s pitchers recover and get more and more rest. AND sill we booted and fumbled both losses away. i’ll be cheering for ncstate to win the whole thing and for n carolina’s team plane to crash nto a field of dreams
The real Carolina won.
The real Carolina won.