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Holbrook encouraged by Crowe's comeback, optimistic about 2017 team

Wil Crowe
Wil Crowe
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South Carolina right-hander Wil Crowe has taken a slow and steady approach in his comeback from Tommy John surgery 14 months ago, and so far Chad Holbrook is encouraged by what he has seen from the Sevierville, Tenn. native this summer.

In four outings for the Lexington Blowfish of the Coastal Plains League, Crowe is 0-1 with a 3.46 ERA in 13.0 innings pitched. He has allowed 10 hits and six runs with 17 strikeouts and just three walks.

Crowe’s strike-out-to-walk ratio is evidence his control and velocity are where they need to be as he eyes a return to the Gamecocks pitching staff in 2017, possibly as a weekend starter.

“He is still in the early stages of getting back to where he hopes to be come February, where he was before he was injured,” Holbrook said recently on SportsTalk. “It has certainly been great to see him in his four outings thus far since his surgery. It is exciting for us.”

Crowe last pitched for the Gamecocks on April 10, 2015 when he lasted 4.1 innings at Florida. Shortly thereafter, he was shut down for the season and underwent Tommy John Surgery on his right elbow. He is 11-7 with a 3.52 ERA in 1453.0 career innings for USC. He will be a redshirt junior next season.

“His velocity has actually been up,” Holbrook said. “That’s one of the things you worry about coming off surgery – if he will get their arm strength back and his life on the fastball back. It’s not even been an issue. He has been throwing it in the low to mid 90s each and every start. That’s been great news.

“The thing that usually comes last with an injury like this is (location). When he is trying to throw a fastball in, he throws it in and not away. He has to locate his pitches and throws them where he wants to. He is probably not as polished in that regard as he will be real soon. But you only get that by being out on the mound getting experience and some confidence.”

Unquestionably, the 6-foot-2 Crowe possesses the physical tools to return to his former status as an elite SEC pitcher. His biggest battle could be overcoming the mental hurdles many pitchers face after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

“It is a tough injury to come back from in terms of a psychological standpoint,” Holbrook said. “Now that he knows his velocity is back he is in a much better place. I think he will be ready to go come fall and he will be 100 percent. We look forward to putting him out there the first weekend in 2017.”

Crowe’s awaited return in 2017 marks one important addition to the Gamecocks, who are already predicted by multiple national college baseball publications to reach Omaha next June for the first time since 2012.

“I like our team,” Holbrook said. “But a lot goes into being one of the last eight teams standing. You have to play well at the right time and avoid injuries and have some good fortune. This game is not all about skill set. When we won it in 2010, we were down to our last strike and (newly crowned national champions) Coastal Carolina was down to their last strike at NC State. You just have to find a way to keep battling and competing.”

If Crowe suffers no complications in the fall and is 100 percent healthy by February, his return should give the Gamecocks a formidable weekend trio of Clarke Schmidt, Tyler Johnson and Crowe. All three could be high round draft picks next June.

Additionally, Josh Reagan and Adam Hill return to bolster either the starting rotation or the bullpen, along with several newcomers.

“I feel good about the talent level of our team,” Holbrook said. “We have the talent to be one of the more talented teams in the country. But we have to go play well.”

More than seven months before Opening Day, Holbrook said the 2017 roster is taking shape.

“Our roster is pretty settled,” Holbrook said. “We have a great idea of the team we are going to put out on the field. We are excited about the group we will have.”

Marcus Mooney started 61 of 64 games at shortstop this past season, so finding a worthy successor looks to be Holbrook’s biggest infield challenge prior to the start of next season.

“Obviously, we’re going to have a new shortstop after losing Marcus Mooney to graduation,” Holbrook said. “We’ll have a couple of kids out there vying for that spot.”

Rising junior Madison Stokes (.304 BA, 1 HR, 12 RBI) appears ready to take over at second base from DC Arendas, joining returning third baseman Jonah Bride (.283-2-32), first baseman L.T. Tolbert (38 starts in 2016) and catchers Chris Cullen (.238) and John Jones (.269) in the Gamecocks infield.

Two outfield spots will likely go to Alex Destino (.321, team leading 10 HR and 59 RBI) and T.J. Hopkins (.322, 31 starts in 2016) as the Gamecocks eye replacing the substantial offensive production of Gene Cone (.363-4-30) and Dom Thompson-Williams (.321-8-41), two of USC’s top hitters in 2016.

Highly-touted freshman Carlos Cortes from Winter Park, Fla., regarded by many as one of the top prep hitters in the Sunshine State, has arrived in Columbia and should be involved in the thick of the outfield battle

Cortes was selected by the NY Mets in the 20th round of last month’s MLB Draft, but quickly tweeted, “Can't wait to start my career at the University of South Carolina!” He played both second base and the outfield at Lake Howell High School.

“It will be interesting to see how our outfield develops with Destino and Hopkins out there,” Holbrook said. “Carlos Cortes is one of the top 30 players in the country in high school. So, that is still ongoing. We’ll figure that out in the fall. It looks like we’ll have some nice pieces to put into some good spots.”

NOTES

-- Pitcher Tyler Johnson earned a spot on the 2016 USA National Collegiate Team. The team will compete in international friendship series at Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Cuba. The Collegiate National Team is currently in Taiwan playing Chinese Taipei from July 5-9. That series will be followed by a trip to Japan from July 12-17 and concluding with a five-game series at Cuba from July 23-27. “I think he is setting himself up to be a first round draft pick and maybe an All-American in 2017,” Holbrook said.

-- Four incoming freshmen, including Cortes, are currently attending Summer Session II, Holbrook said.

-- In the wake of Coastal Carolina’s stunning national championship run, Holbrook was asked about the possibility of the Gamecocks and Chanticleers scheduling a weekend three-game series in the future rather than a single midweek game as the two schools have done the past three years: “That would create a little interest, wouldn’t it,” Holbrook said. “But there a lot of things that go into scheduling. (CCU coach) Gary Gilmore and I are doing the best we can to play each other. We’d love to more than once per year. That would be great for the state, both our programs and college baseball. Hopefully, that can be worked out. There are ongoing discussions right now. Gary always wants to play us. We certainly want to work it out where we can play them as well. Hopefully, we can make it happen, more than just a midweek game.”

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