15 Things from Chad Holbrook, Clarke Schmidt, Gene Cone press conference
South Carolina's head coach Chad Holbrook, junior outfielder Gene Cone and sophomore pitcher Clarke Schmidt addressed the media before tomorrow's regional matchup against Rhode Island. Here are some highlights of their 20-minute press conference.
Leading off
--Third baseman Jonah Bride hasn’t practiced the last two days with back spasms. Second baseman DC bent his fingernail back fielding a ground ball and his finger’s sore. Holbrook said he’s not sure if either will be available for tomorrow.
--Holbrook said he’s uncertain who’ll start tomorrow, but said TJ Hopkins had a good week of practice and can be effective against a left-handed pitcher.
--Clarke Schmidt, who was recently named to the third-team All-America team by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, said he’s thankful for an added day or two of rest before Friday. He last pitched May 26 against Ole Miss.
--Holbrook said the key to this weekend is minimizing free bases, making teams earn every run and executing. He said the team has to play really well, too.
--South Carolina will face Rhode Island’s LHP Tyler Wilson, who leads the nation with 12 wins and a 2.08 ERA. He was named the A-10 Pitcher of the Year.
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On Deck
Chad Holbrook on practice this week: “We tried like crazy to work hard this week to get some reps in and position ourselves to play our best baseball at the end of the season. Those that play their best tend to move on. Obviously nothing’s going to be handed to you in the NCAA Tournament; you have to go and win it.”
Clarke Schmidt on regionals in Columbia: “The atmosphere is like none other. We know what to expect when we come in here. It’s going to be a lot of fun; it’s going to be high tension. I don’t know if they’ve every played in front of 8,000 fans, but we’ve done it week in and week out. It kind of gives us an advantage I like to think.”
Holbrook on not focusing on last year: “This team has been committed from the first day of practice in September to get us back to this point. We worked extremely hard to get here…Obviously they know at south Carolina postseason play is the norm. So it does feel good to get us back to this point.”
Holbrook on added pressure of postseason: “For a coaching staff at South Carolina, there’s pressure every single day. It’s nothing new. I feel relieved in a sense that we’re back. Now let’s take a deep breathe, relax and go play our best baseball. I want them to have fun and enjoy the moment; I’m going to try and do the same thing.”
Schmidt on added rest: “You get to rest your arm a couple days…When you’re this deep into a season and you’ve thrown so many innings, these pitchers’ arms they start to get a little tired. When you get an extra day of rest you’ll take it as quick as anyone else would.”
Batting cleanup
--Rhode Island’s head coach Raphael Cerrato said he thinks his team can win the regional, saying the pressure to win is on South Carolina and not his team.
--South Carolina practiced for 75 minutes Thursday morning, going through fielding exercises and batting practice.
--Gene Cone said the key to battling Wilson is to keep the intensity up in the box and be the aggressor against a good pitcher.
--Holbrook said Wilson could be a successful SEC starter on a weekend basis if he pitched in the league, saying he has effective off-speed pitches working well with his fastball.
--Schmidt said he likes to pitch with a chip on his shoulder every game, and that’s going to help him in a pitcher’s duel tomorrow against Wilson.
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