CCU Baseball Notebook: Chadwick solid in first start at second base – Myrtle Beach Sun News

Entering the team’s College World Series opener Sunday night, Coastal Carolina senior Tyler Chadwick had made 123 career starts at first base, 45 at catcher and one at third.

He had never started at second base, though, until the biggest game of life.

With starting second baseman Seth Lancaster lost for the season due to a knee injury, Chanticleers coach Gary Gilmore spent all week considering his options there, looking at freshman Cameron Pearcey, sophomore centerfielder Billy Cooke and Chadwick.

Earlier in the week, Gilmore suggested it would likely be Pearcey – the primary backup there all season – but when the lineups came out Sunday night before the Chants’ game with Florida, it was Chadwick at second base.

He found out a little bit earlier in the day himself.

“We were walking to the bus after BP and Coach Gilley called me over and asked me if I was good to go and if I knew everything, and I told him, ‘Yeah.’ And I got to the field and my name was on the lineup card,” Chadwick said. “But it was awesome. [Shortstop Michael] Paez helped me out a lot, [assistant coach Matt Schilling] helped me out a lot kind of being ready for each pitch and where to move. And Seth and Cam were talking to me a lot about different stuff.

“So it was kind of a team effort there. They helped me out with it, but I’m just glad I got the opportunity to do it and hopefully we keep winning games.”

Chadwick had a busy evening in the field while tallying four put-outs and five assists with no errors.

Gilmore had been leaning toward sticking with Pearcey, who was charged with two errors in the top of the ninth inning of the Chants’ 4-3 NCAA super regionals clincher at LSU last Sunday night, but he ultimately decided he wanted to roll the dice with his senior and have sophomore Kevin Woodall Jr. take over at first base.

“I won’t say how I came upon [the decision] because I don’t want to hurt another kid’s feelings right at this moment, but it was a decision I made after a couple of consultations and this and that,” Gilmore said. “And it’s nothing against Cam. I just thought that this group of guys has been together, and if we’re going to lose I’m going to lose with a senior at second base that – he’s one of the brothers. And to be honest with you, that’s kind of what it came down to.”

Chadwick, who actually came into the program as a second baseman before bouncing around the diamond, was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and was plunked in the helmet by hard-throwing Florida reliever A.J. Puk, but it was the infield defense Gilmore was most concerned about and the senior acquitted himself just fine there. He had played second twice before for the Chants, moving over for one inning in a 2015 game against Western Kentucky and again for 2/3 of an inning later that season at Florida State.

And there was one play that seemed all too familiar to Gilmore for a moment as Chadwick bobbled a grounder at one point before recovering and making the throw to first. In the ninth inning of that nail-biter at LSU last Sunday, Pearcey, who had played a solid defensive game to that point, bobbled a grounder before picking it up and throwing wide of first to help the Tigers start what would be a game-tying rally.

“I think Cam has more range left and right [and] Chadwick is a little bit better in things that he can control and being around the ball and balls that are hit to him,” Gilmore said. “Basically the same play that happened at LSU happened to Chadwick and he had the presence to be nice and calm and make that play, and that’s the same ball we threw away in the ninth inning there at LSU.

“I’m just happy for Chadwick. He’s such a selfless gamer for this group of guys here, and for him to go in there and have a solid game it made a world of difference for us.”

Praise for Woodall too

Woodall took care of his responsibilities too, making a couple of nice scoops at first base for big outs.

One came on a play that Chadwick ranged to his left on in the hole before skipping the throw over to the bag in the third for the final out, and another finished a double play in the bottom of the sixth.

“The ground ball in the four-hole that Chadwick threw and Woody picked him up, you don’t see that all the time and I think he picked us up twice tonight,” junior pitcher Andrew Beckwith said. “That’s a sophomore picking up a senior. We pride ourselves on picking each other up and one pitch at a time, and when we do that we have a chance.”

Florida’s arms can’t stop CCU bats

Incredibly, Coastal Carolina faced three of the top 47 picks from the recent Major League Baseball draft in the win Sunday night.

Florida starter Logan Shore was the 47th overall pick, to the Oakland A’s, and went five innings while allowing five hits, two walks and two runs with seven strikeouts.

Dane Dunning, the 29th overall pick to the Washington Nationals, came in and threw 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief while giving up three hits and striking out three.

And Puk, the 6th overall pick of the draft by the A;s, faced just one batter while hitting Chadwick in the head.

“The pitching staff at Florida, I’ll be honest, I’ve been around college baseball teams a long time,” Gilmore said. “If there’s ever been a better collection of arms and pitchability guys than that group, man alive, I’m telling you. They’re very impressive and I’m sure they’re far from being done in this tournament. They’re very good.”