Through meticulous research and watching a lot of baseball games, we've
narrowed down five reasons we believe the Gamecocks can win the College
World Series. These are in no particular order. Our first two reasons were Pitching and Defense. Here's reason No. 3:
Ability to Generate Offense
Despite hitting the lowest number of home runs since 2005 (90), the Gamecocks have been able to put runs on the board with a mixture of a small-ball approach and the "old-school" power attack. Part of the change in philosophy comes from the addition of Associate Head Coach Chad Holbrook to the South Carolina coaching staff.
"As a player, he was a guy who used the other side of the field, used his speed and had a good two-strike approach and that's something we've done a better job of in our program," said Tanner. "He's made an impression on our guys. We've done a much better job of not striking out as much and walks and on-base percentage have become a much bigger factor."
The eighth inning in Sunday's 10-9 win over Coastal Carolina showed how the Gamecocks have blended their old style offense with a new approach.
Facing a two-out situation against Coastal closer Austin Fleet, Jackie Bradley, Jr. (one of the team's leading hitters) worked the count to draw a walk. Adrian Morales followed up Bradley's walk with a timely double to put runners on second and third for freshman Christian Walker. The first baseman waited for his pitch and sent it out of the park.
Ability to Generate Offense
Despite hitting the lowest number of home runs since 2005 (90), the Gamecocks have been able to put runs on the board with a mixture of a small-ball approach and the "old-school" power attack. Part of the change in philosophy comes from the addition of Associate Head Coach Chad Holbrook to the South Carolina coaching staff.
"As a player, he was a guy who used the other side of the field, used his speed and had a good two-strike approach and that's something we've done a better job of in our program," said Tanner. "He's made an impression on our guys. We've done a much better job of not striking out as much and walks and on-base percentage have become a much bigger factor."
The eighth inning in Sunday's 10-9 win over Coastal Carolina showed how the Gamecocks have blended their old style offense with a new approach.
Facing a two-out situation against Coastal closer Austin Fleet, Jackie Bradley, Jr. (one of the team's leading hitters) worked the count to draw a walk. Adrian Morales followed up Bradley's walk with a timely double to put runners on second and third for freshman Christian Walker. The first baseman waited for his pitch and sent it out of the park.
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