ROCK HILL | The Chanticleers were posing for pictures Saturday after beating Liberty to win the Big South Baseball Championship at the Winthrop Ballpark. Big South Associate Commissioner Dawn Turner was trying to come up with an appropriate word to get them all smiling at once.
I thought it fitting that instead of saying, "cheese," Turner told the Chants to all say, "Omaha." The way Coastal played at times this week, you could certainly see College World Series potential out of this team.
With Daniel Bowman emerging as a difference maker once again, Rich Witten emerging from anonymity and many of the other Chants already playing well, it would be a big disappointment if this team didn't at least get to the super regionals. Adam Rice said before the season that it would be an upset if this team didn't end the year in Omaha, and I'm starting to believe that's true as well.
Sure, the Chants did have a great week against mostly mediocre Big South pitching, but they are all starting to hit at the right time. It's hard to imagine that anybody is going to be able to completely shut down the Chants -- Alex White and Adam Warren are gone at North Carolina -- in a regional. With Anthony Meo or members of a solid bullpen on the mound, Coastal doesn't have to worry about scoring anyway.
I only worry about No. 2 and 3 starters Cody Wheeler and Josh Conway. Both struggled in their tournament starts. Can Wheeler put his postseason struggled behind him next weekend? Can Conway produce quality results in his first regional? Those two questions could ultimately decide Coastal's fate.
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Coastal will be announced as a regional host this afternoon, and I'm interested to see if the Grand Strand will embrace this team. The Myrtle Beach Pelicans will begin selling tickets at 4 p.m. once the announcement is made, giving Chants' fans the opportunity to buy up as many tickets as possible before the brackets are announced Monday.
I don't think the Myrtle Beach-Conway area has truly given Coastal baseball the support it probably deserves, but this is certainly it's chance. This team will likely earn a national seed on Monday, one of the most significant achievements in Coastal athletics history, and will provide plenty of entertainment value. Plus, the regional will be played in a sterling facility.
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Word from the Winthrop press box Saturday was that Bowman's first home run was likely the longest in stadium history. The next longest? Jose Iglesias' place in history lasted just one day. His towering shot that left the park just adjacent to the batter's eye on Friday was widely believed to be the longest. Coastal hit several huge home runs this week.
Bowman's ball cleared the scoreboard in left-center field and went into a big tree, making it nearly impossible to tell exactly how far it went. I asked Bowman after the game if it bettered his Big South tournament home run against High Point in 2009, a shot that was one of the longest in McCormick Field history. That shot is probably the longest home run I've ever witnessed in person.
And Bowman, too.
"I think the one at Asheville is at the top of my list," he said with a smile. "It's hard to compete with that one.
"It feels good. I had been struggling. It had gotten frustrating for me, and the last two days, it's felt good to help out the team and get these victories."
I thought it fitting that instead of saying, "cheese," Turner told the Chants to all say, "Omaha." The way Coastal played at times this week, you could certainly see College World Series potential out of this team.
With Daniel Bowman emerging as a difference maker once again, Rich Witten emerging from anonymity and many of the other Chants already playing well, it would be a big disappointment if this team didn't at least get to the super regionals. Adam Rice said before the season that it would be an upset if this team didn't end the year in Omaha, and I'm starting to believe that's true as well.
Sure, the Chants did have a great week against mostly mediocre Big South pitching, but they are all starting to hit at the right time. It's hard to imagine that anybody is going to be able to completely shut down the Chants -- Alex White and Adam Warren are gone at North Carolina -- in a regional. With Anthony Meo or members of a solid bullpen on the mound, Coastal doesn't have to worry about scoring anyway.
I only worry about No. 2 and 3 starters Cody Wheeler and Josh Conway. Both struggled in their tournament starts. Can Wheeler put his postseason struggled behind him next weekend? Can Conway produce quality results in his first regional? Those two questions could ultimately decide Coastal's fate.
-----------
Coastal will be announced as a regional host this afternoon, and I'm interested to see if the Grand Strand will embrace this team. The Myrtle Beach Pelicans will begin selling tickets at 4 p.m. once the announcement is made, giving Chants' fans the opportunity to buy up as many tickets as possible before the brackets are announced Monday.
I don't think the Myrtle Beach-Conway area has truly given Coastal baseball the support it probably deserves, but this is certainly it's chance. This team will likely earn a national seed on Monday, one of the most significant achievements in Coastal athletics history, and will provide plenty of entertainment value. Plus, the regional will be played in a sterling facility.
-----------
Word from the Winthrop press box Saturday was that Bowman's first home run was likely the longest in stadium history. The next longest? Jose Iglesias' place in history lasted just one day. His towering shot that left the park just adjacent to the batter's eye on Friday was widely believed to be the longest. Coastal hit several huge home runs this week.
Bowman's ball cleared the scoreboard in left-center field and went into a big tree, making it nearly impossible to tell exactly how far it went. I asked Bowman after the game if it bettered his Big South tournament home run against High Point in 2009, a shot that was one of the longest in McCormick Field history. That shot is probably the longest home run I've ever witnessed in person.
And Bowman, too.
"I think the one at Asheville is at the top of my list," he said with a smile. "It's hard to compete with that one.
"It feels good. I had been struggling. It had gotten frustrating for me, and the last two days, it's felt good to help out the team and get these victories."
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