Postseason college baseball is coming back to the beach.
Coastal Carolina was chosen Sunday as one of 16 regional hosts. The NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional will be held this weekend at BB&T Coastal Field, starting Friday and running through Sunday or Monday if needed. The field of 64 will be announced Monday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Cal State Fullerton, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, TCU, UCLA and Virginia will also host regionals.
The Chanticleers finished the Big South tournament with a 51-7 record and a No. 2 RPI rating, making them a lock to host a regional for the third time in four years. Coastal hosted its first regional at BB&T Coastal Field in 2007 before hosting at on-campus Watson Stadium in 2008.
After missing out on a chance to host last season, the fifth-ranked Chants are glad to be staying at home.
“It’s going to be great,” said Coastal outfielder Daniel Bowman, the Big South tournament MVP. “Last year going on the road as the No. 2 seed at North Carolina was a great experience, but I’m sure playing at home will be an even greater experience with all our fans and friends supporting us. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”
The last time Coastal played a regional in Myrtle Beach, the Chants were bracketed with Clemson. Tigers fans filled the stadium and made it a pro-Clemson crowd, turning the home-field advantage against the hosts.
Coastal coach Gary Gilmore doesn’t want to see a repeat, especially with the Tigers once again a candidate to end up in Myrtle Beach.
“Everywhere I go if I’ve got something Coastal on, there are people coming up to me saying, ‘Man, you guys have a great team,’” he said. “My challenge is just don’t tell us we have a good team. This is an opportunity for our community and all of Horry County to step up and come to ball games. [This team] has earned that.
“Win, lose or draw they’ve earned 4 or 5,000 people in teal. I hope we can get it, regardless of who comes to play us. Let’s see if we can get after some people and take some pride in Coastal Carolina.”
Coastal has sold 500 ticket packages, but a large portion of the tickets remain at the 6,600-seat facility. The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are handling all ticket sales at myrtlebeachpelicans.com and through their ticket office (843-918-6000).
Fan support will play a role in whether Coastal is able to reach its ultimate goal of a berth in the College World Series, Coastal first baseman Rich Witten said.
“It’s huge to have home-field advantage,” he said. “We hope to see all the Coastal fans out there supporting us, because they really are the 10th guy out there. It helps with everything when you have a crowd supporting you.”
Coastal plans a full-scale marketing effort to help fill the stadium, Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said. Coastal wants to drum up as much interest among its supporters in case Clemson is sent to Myrtle Beach for a regional or if South Carolina comes for a super regional.
“I think our kids have earned a true home-field advantage,” Yurachek said. “I think the committee takes that away from us in a sense if they send Clemson or South Carolina here for a regional or a super regional. I hope they decide otherwise. But obviously we’ll play whoever comes.”
Contact JOSH HOKE at 843-626-0318.
To view Hoke's CCU sports blog, “The Roost,” go to TheSunNews.com.
Coastal Carolina was chosen Sunday as one of 16 regional hosts. The NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional will be held this weekend at BB&T Coastal Field, starting Friday and running through Sunday or Monday if needed. The field of 64 will be announced Monday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Cal State Fullerton, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, TCU, UCLA and Virginia will also host regionals.
The Chanticleers finished the Big South tournament with a 51-7 record and a No. 2 RPI rating, making them a lock to host a regional for the third time in four years. Coastal hosted its first regional at BB&T Coastal Field in 2007 before hosting at on-campus Watson Stadium in 2008.
After missing out on a chance to host last season, the fifth-ranked Chants are glad to be staying at home.
“It’s going to be great,” said Coastal outfielder Daniel Bowman, the Big South tournament MVP. “Last year going on the road as the No. 2 seed at North Carolina was a great experience, but I’m sure playing at home will be an even greater experience with all our fans and friends supporting us. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”
The last time Coastal played a regional in Myrtle Beach, the Chants were bracketed with Clemson. Tigers fans filled the stadium and made it a pro-Clemson crowd, turning the home-field advantage against the hosts.
Coastal coach Gary Gilmore doesn’t want to see a repeat, especially with the Tigers once again a candidate to end up in Myrtle Beach.
“Everywhere I go if I’ve got something Coastal on, there are people coming up to me saying, ‘Man, you guys have a great team,’” he said. “My challenge is just don’t tell us we have a good team. This is an opportunity for our community and all of Horry County to step up and come to ball games. [This team] has earned that.
“Win, lose or draw they’ve earned 4 or 5,000 people in teal. I hope we can get it, regardless of who comes to play us. Let’s see if we can get after some people and take some pride in Coastal Carolina.”
Coastal has sold 500 ticket packages, but a large portion of the tickets remain at the 6,600-seat facility. The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are handling all ticket sales at myrtlebeachpelicans.com and through their ticket office (843-918-6000).
Fan support will play a role in whether Coastal is able to reach its ultimate goal of a berth in the College World Series, Coastal first baseman Rich Witten said.
“It’s huge to have home-field advantage,” he said. “We hope to see all the Coastal fans out there supporting us, because they really are the 10th guy out there. It helps with everything when you have a crowd supporting you.”
Coastal plans a full-scale marketing effort to help fill the stadium, Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said. Coastal wants to drum up as much interest among its supporters in case Clemson is sent to Myrtle Beach for a regional or if South Carolina comes for a super regional.
“I think our kids have earned a true home-field advantage,” Yurachek said. “I think the committee takes that away from us in a sense if they send Clemson or South Carolina here for a regional or a super regional. I hope they decide otherwise. But obviously we’ll play whoever comes.”
Contact JOSH HOKE at 843-626-0318.
To view Hoke's CCU sports blog, “The Roost,” go to TheSunNews.com.
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