Holbrook: 'Darn right' Gamecocks Deserve Top 8 seed as SEC Tourney Begins
After confounding the experts by capturing the SEC East division title with 20 conference wins, finishing the regular season ranked in the Top 10 of every major national poll and earning a No. 5 ranking in the official NCAA Baseball RPI, South Carolina coach Chad Holbrook hopes the tournament selection committee does the right thing and awards the Gamecocks a coveted top eight national seed.
“All I know is we are SEC East champions and have a RPI in the top five,” Holbrook said. “We finished ahead in the league of some really good teams. There is no reason to think we are not a national seed. We have done all we can do. We are in the conversation as being one of the top eight teams in the country.
“We should be judged on what we have accomplished. For that reason, you’re darn right I think we’re a top eight national seed. You can’t say we don’t deserve it. We have done a lot and put ourselves in a good spot. That being said, we have to play our best baseball at the right time of the year.”
Half the national seeds could come from the SEC with Florida, Mississippi State and Texas A&M likely joining the Gamecocks in the Elite Eight, guaranteeing the road to Omaha runs through the Southeast.
DESTINO BOUNCES BACK: Sophomore Alex Destino candidly admits his freshman season in 2015 was disappointing as he struggled to adapt to SEC pitching, batting just .251 with six homers, 35 RBI and an on-base percentage of .288.
This season, though, Destino significantly improved those numbers, taking a .332 batting average and .380 OBP into Wednesday’s opening game against Ole Miss at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. He has eight homers and 50 RBI in roughly the same number of games as a year ago and had a 21-game hitting streak.
Destino has significantly reduced his strikeouts. A year ago, he fanned 41 times in 167 at-bats, one strikeout for every 4.1 at-bats. In 51 games this season, Destino has fanned 37 times in 199 at-bats, one strikeout for every 5.4 at-bats. Thus, he is making more consistent contact and, based on his numbers, hitting the ball solid most of the time.
“I worked on a ton of stuff last summer,” Destino said. “My coaches in Wilmington (Coastal Plains League), I told them what I wanted to get better at and they did their absolute best to help me. I couldn’t be more thankful for those guys. Being more patient and more confident in the box (helped). Not being scared or intimidated by the spotlight or the pitcher I’m facing. Last year, I would be a little intimidated. This year, that wasn’t the case at all.”
Destino started the season at first base, but soon moved to the outfield after struggling defensively.
“I played outfield in high school, but I took all my reps in the preseason at first,” Destino said. “It wasn’t a waste of time by any means because playing first base will be something for me down the road. I’m sure Coach Holbrook and I will have a long talk at the end of this year. I’m sure I will play first, outfield and DH this summer.”
WILL SCHMIDT START WEDNESDAY?: Perhaps the intriguing question for the Gamecocks heading into their SEC Tourney opener on Wednesday afternoon is whether Holbrook will start Clarke Schmidt on the mound. Before the team’s departure Monday, Holbrook had not decided if he wanted to move Schmidt up a day for the second straight week.
“I would love to throw Clarke,” Holbrook said. “But this would be the second time in a row we moved him up (a day). He pitched Friday night against Texas A&M and then Thursday at Alabama. He didn’t throw great, he didn’t throw like Clarke Schmidt. All of a sudden, we’re going to ask him to move up again.
“I’ll know more (Wednesday) when we work out and I see how he feels. If he feels fine and wants the ball and he thinks he’s 100 percent, we’ll give him the ball. But if there is any in-between, or any doubt, we don’t give it to him. The last thing I will do is rush him into a start.”
NOTES:
-- Was Gene Cone overlooked for SEC Player of the Year consideration? Cone leads the Gamecocks in batting with a .348 average and .460 OBP, compiling a 31-game hitting streak earlier in the campaign. The award went to Texas A&M’s Boomer White. The fact Cone was virtually unknown around the SEC before the season started likely hurt his chances as he was forced to play catchup to White and others. “He wasn’t a name people thought of before the season started as someone who would be one of the best players in the league and the country,” Holbrook said. “He has been both. Once I put him in there, he has been very consistent. And he has played well defensively too.”
-- Relievers Josh Reagan, Reed Scott and Tyler Johnson have combined for 22 saves, 112 strikeouts and just 38 walks in 126.1 innings pitched this season. “They are all going to make the opponent beat you,” Holbrook said. “They are not going to walk everybody and they’re not going to give you free bases. They won’t panic in any situation. They throw strikes, change speeds and try to work ahead of hitters. They hold runners on. That’s why Reed, Josh and Tyler pitch all the time. We have a pretty good bullpen.”
SEC TOURNAMENT SEEDING
1. Mississippi State 21-9*
2. South Carolina 20-9*
3. Texas A&M 20-10
4. Florida 19-10
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5. LSU 19-11
6. Vanderbilt 18-12 (Wins tie-breaker over OM)
7. Ole Miss 18-12
8. Kentucky 15-15 (Wins tie-breaker over Alabama)
9. Alabama 15-15
10. Georgia 11-19
11. Missouri 9-21 (Wins tie-breaker over Tennessee)
12. Tennessee 9-21
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13. Auburn 8-22
14. Arkansas 7-23
*Division Winners
NOTE: Division winners are automatically seeded No. 1 and No. 2 for the SEC Tournament. The remainder of the 12-team field is seeded based on winning percentage. The Mo. 13 and 14 teams do not qualify for the SEC Tournament. The top four seeds receive first round byes.
SEC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (Tuesday and Wednesday)
Tuesday, May 24 (Single Elimination)
Game 1: Vanderbilt 7, Missouri 0 (Mizzou eliminated)
Game 2: Ole Miss 5, Georgia 1 (Georgia eliminated)
Game 3: Alabama 5, Kentucky 2 (Kentucky eliminated)
Game 4: LSU 5, Tennessee 4 (Tennessee eliminated)
Wednesday, May 25 (Double Elimination Begins)
10:30 p.m. - Texas A&M vs. Vanderbilt
2 p.m. (Approx.) – South Carolina vs. Ole Miss
5:30 p.m. – Mississippi State vs. Alabama
9 p.m. (Approx.) – Florida vs. LSU
(All Times Eastern)
