CONWAY | Most of the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers had gathered their belongings and left the clubhouse by lunchtime Monday.
The few remaining stragglers – at least the ones returning in 2011 – were either lounging on the couch or lingering near their lockers. Their summer league seasons will begin soon, but none of them wanted to let this season end.
South Carolina’s two-game sweep over Coastal ended a magical season that seemed destined to end in the College World Series. Instead, the Chants spent Monday cleaning out their lockers and saying their goodbyes.
“I’m kind of numb to the whole thing right this moment,” Coastal coach Gary Gilmore said. “If you do this as long as I’ve done it, you see a lot of players and teams that have touched your life. To say this is the best team I’ve ever coached and the best group of people I’ve ever coached from top to bottom ... that says a lot right there.
“We won as a team. We lost as a team. From coaches to players. We didn’t play great in either game, but it was the character trait of that team. No matter what we did, we never quit playing, never quit pushing.”
The veteran skipper was proud of his team for holding its own against a team from the powerful SEC. But moral victories weren’t going to suffice for a group of players that had set their sights on more than Big South and regional championships.
“You work so hard in the fall, winter and when you come back for the spring for one day,” sophomore shortstop Taylor Motter said. “All for those two games that I think we should have won. We gave them a few runs here and a few runs there, but it was all for one day. That’s the worse part about it.”
Coming back?
Coastal third baseman Scott Woodward, the player who could ultimately determine the Chants’ fate in 2011, signed a contract with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod League Monday, his father, Kevin Woodward, said.
That likely increases the chances that the junior, a 15th-round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics, will return for his senior campaign. Woodward could boost his stock with a standout senior season and earn a higher signing bonus next June.
Woodward met with Gilmore Monday and is expected to entertain offers from the Athletics Tuesday. He could choose to play summer ball this summer and still skip his senior season by signing a contract by mid-August.
“The 15th round is a good round to go back to school on,” said Kevin Woodward, who expects a final decision from his son within the next week.
“I think there is kind of that feeling that he can go work on his game a little bit and see how things work. If it works, fine. If not, I think he’s happy to go back to Coastal, get another year of school and hopefully draft higher next year.”
There is a precedent for the type of draft rise that Woodward would be hoping for. His former Team U.S.A. teammate, Florida outfielder Matt den Dekker, went in the 16th round of the 2009 draft, but he returned to school and went in the fifth round of last week’s draft.
Plus, Woodward would have the opportunity to play his projected professional position next season. Fifth-round pick Rico Noel figures to turn pro, leaving a hole in center field. Woodward, who hasn’t shown enough power to be a legitimate third-base prospect, was a high school outfielder and played the position in the Cape Cod League last year.
Moving forward
What is most needed for Coastal to get over the hump and to the College World Series? A new stadium and enhanced facilities, Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said Monday.
“We’ve got to build a stadium worthy of a top-10 program,” he said. “... If we can really create a dynamic stadium I think that will give coach Gilmore and his staff the last piece of the puzzle to help them continue to take steps in the right direction.”
Coastal needs to raise private funds for that to happen. Members of Coastal’s administration put the full-court press on dignitaries that attended regional and super regional games.
“Between the president’s office and the Chanticleer Athletic Foundation we had three boxes this past weekend,” Yurachek said. “We had roughly 60 to 75 VIP guests in those boxes. Some of relationships we had been cultivating. Some we just started cultivating. Each of those people can be a key player in what we do for our baseball program.”
The lack of a quality facility is frustrating for Gilmore. The Gamecocks play in one of the nation’s finest venues, Carolina Stadium, a $35.6-million facility that opened in 2009. Still, his Chants stood toe to toe with them.
“What I think is funny is all the nasty emails of guys rubbing it in from yesterday about we didn’t belong in the tournament and the SEC rules,” Gilmore said. “All that stuff is great, but I’d like them to live in mine and my staff’s shoes for a year. Come back to the trailer every day and to [batting] cages hung in a tennis court. How many of those [top draft picks] would they get to go to that school?”
Contact JOSH HOKE at 843-626-0318.
To view Hoke's CCU sports blog, “The Roost,” go to TheSunNews.com.
The few remaining stragglers – at least the ones returning in 2011 – were either lounging on the couch or lingering near their lockers. Their summer league seasons will begin soon, but none of them wanted to let this season end.
South Carolina’s two-game sweep over Coastal ended a magical season that seemed destined to end in the College World Series. Instead, the Chants spent Monday cleaning out their lockers and saying their goodbyes.
“I’m kind of numb to the whole thing right this moment,” Coastal coach Gary Gilmore said. “If you do this as long as I’ve done it, you see a lot of players and teams that have touched your life. To say this is the best team I’ve ever coached and the best group of people I’ve ever coached from top to bottom ... that says a lot right there.
“We won as a team. We lost as a team. From coaches to players. We didn’t play great in either game, but it was the character trait of that team. No matter what we did, we never quit playing, never quit pushing.”
The veteran skipper was proud of his team for holding its own against a team from the powerful SEC. But moral victories weren’t going to suffice for a group of players that had set their sights on more than Big South and regional championships.
“You work so hard in the fall, winter and when you come back for the spring for one day,” sophomore shortstop Taylor Motter said. “All for those two games that I think we should have won. We gave them a few runs here and a few runs there, but it was all for one day. That’s the worse part about it.”
Coming back?
Coastal third baseman Scott Woodward, the player who could ultimately determine the Chants’ fate in 2011, signed a contract with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod League Monday, his father, Kevin Woodward, said.
That likely increases the chances that the junior, a 15th-round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics, will return for his senior campaign. Woodward could boost his stock with a standout senior season and earn a higher signing bonus next June.
Woodward met with Gilmore Monday and is expected to entertain offers from the Athletics Tuesday. He could choose to play summer ball this summer and still skip his senior season by signing a contract by mid-August.
“The 15th round is a good round to go back to school on,” said Kevin Woodward, who expects a final decision from his son within the next week.
“I think there is kind of that feeling that he can go work on his game a little bit and see how things work. If it works, fine. If not, I think he’s happy to go back to Coastal, get another year of school and hopefully draft higher next year.”
There is a precedent for the type of draft rise that Woodward would be hoping for. His former Team U.S.A. teammate, Florida outfielder Matt den Dekker, went in the 16th round of the 2009 draft, but he returned to school and went in the fifth round of last week’s draft.
Plus, Woodward would have the opportunity to play his projected professional position next season. Fifth-round pick Rico Noel figures to turn pro, leaving a hole in center field. Woodward, who hasn’t shown enough power to be a legitimate third-base prospect, was a high school outfielder and played the position in the Cape Cod League last year.
Moving forward
What is most needed for Coastal to get over the hump and to the College World Series? A new stadium and enhanced facilities, Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said Monday.
“We’ve got to build a stadium worthy of a top-10 program,” he said. “... If we can really create a dynamic stadium I think that will give coach Gilmore and his staff the last piece of the puzzle to help them continue to take steps in the right direction.”
Coastal needs to raise private funds for that to happen. Members of Coastal’s administration put the full-court press on dignitaries that attended regional and super regional games.
“Between the president’s office and the Chanticleer Athletic Foundation we had three boxes this past weekend,” Yurachek said. “We had roughly 60 to 75 VIP guests in those boxes. Some of relationships we had been cultivating. Some we just started cultivating. Each of those people can be a key player in what we do for our baseball program.”
The lack of a quality facility is frustrating for Gilmore. The Gamecocks play in one of the nation’s finest venues, Carolina Stadium, a $35.6-million facility that opened in 2009. Still, his Chants stood toe to toe with them.
“What I think is funny is all the nasty emails of guys rubbing it in from yesterday about we didn’t belong in the tournament and the SEC rules,” Gilmore said. “All that stuff is great, but I’d like them to live in mine and my staff’s shoes for a year. Come back to the trailer every day and to [batting] cages hung in a tennis court. How many of those [top draft picks] would they get to go to that school?”
Contact JOSH HOKE at 843-626-0318.
To view Hoke's CCU sports blog, “The Roost,” go to TheSunNews.com.
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