CCU Baseball Notebook: Chants thin on pitching, but with options – Myrtle Beach Sun News

It has taken two epic complete-game performances from junior ace Andrew Beckwith and a clutch outing from the bullpen in the other win to get the Coastal Carolina baseball team to this point, one victory away from reaching the best-of-three championship at the College World Series.

So where do the Chanticleers turn at this point on the mound as they return to TD Ameritrade Park to play TCU one more time Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET?

Well, probably to a collection of pitchers.

“I think it comes down to guys just going out there, there’s going to have to be one or two go out there for the first time and just do the best they can,” coach Gary Gilmore said. “Offensively we’re going to have to have a good game. We’re going to have to execute everything. … Emotionally there’s no doubt in my mind we’ll be locked and loaded.”

The most likely scenario for the Chants (52-17), Gilmore confirmed, involves sophomore right-hander Zack Hopeck (3-3, 3.81 earned-run average) and junior righty Cole Schaefer (1-0, 3.82) getting the first cracks at the Horned Frogs in some order.

Junior Alex Cunningham, part of the Chants’ one-two pitching punch with Beckwith, should be available after starting Tuesday in a 6-1 loss to TCU. He only threw 65 pitches over 4 1/3 innings in that game.

Sophomore reliever Bobby Holmes, who has thrown 5 1/3 innings already this week, could contribute a little, freshman Austin Kitchen will be available as a lefty specialist and even senior closer Mike Morrison – who threw 83 pitches in relief in the win over Texas Tech on Thursday night – could be be available for the ninth inning if there is a game to be saved.

“If we can get through four or five and have a chance to win, AC and Bobby and I know Morrison will be champing at the bit to throw the ninth if we can have a lead,” Gilmore said.

Hopeck made nine starts this season while often facing some of the Chants’ top non-conference competition as the team’s regular mid-week starter. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff – with 34 strikeouts and 11 walks over 49 2/3 innings – but he’s been successful at times against strong competition.

Schaefer hasn’t gotten much opportunity of late while throwing 33 innings for the season, but he pitched five innings of one-run relief in a lopsided loss to NC State during the NCAA regionals that resonated with the coaches. That was his only appearance since April 13, however.

“It’s a concern, sure,” pitching coach Drew Thomas said of the team’s remaining available pitching depth. “But for what we’ve done, Hopeck’s thrown, we have AC available, Bobby’s available, Cole Schaefer gave us some huge innings in that Raleigh regional that went completely unnoticed. But these kids believe. And like we talked about earlier, confidence is an unbelievable pitch added to the arsenal.”

TCU (49-17), meanwhile, could go back to freshman ace right-hander Jared Janczak (7-3, 2.37), although coach Jim Schlossnagle did not make an official announcement on his starting pitcher after the game Friday night.

Janczak threw 4 2/3 innings Sunday in the Horned Frogs’ win over Texas Tech, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk with eight strikeouts.

“I’m not ready to say who we’re going to throw,” Schlossnagle said. “Obviously Janczak is in the mix. I want to see how he feels. But it will be all hands on deck outside of [Mitchell] Traver and Brian Howard. And I thought [Preston] Guillory, once he got out there, and he hadn’t pitched in a while, but he did a really good job. Outside of Howard and Traver, we’ve got to find a way to extend our season.”

The winner of that game Saturday night will play the winner from the other half of the College World Series bracket – either Arizona or Oklahoma State, who play at 3 p.m. ET Saturday – in a best-of-three series starting Monday.

“I think we feel the same as we did this whole tournament, just confident, locked-in, ready to go knowing if we execute and play Coastal baseball like we should play Coastal baseball we’re going to be tough to knock out,” senior left fielder Anthony Marks said. “… I think [Saturday is] going to be a great nine-inning game, and I think everyone’s going to get their money’s worth tomorrow for sure.”

Parrett keeps producing

Senior catcher David Parrett got another start Friday after his breakout 2-for-4, three RBI performance the previous night.

He was the offensive star of that win over Texas Tech on Thursday night after coming into that game with only nine hits and 10 RBIs all season.

Well, apparently he was just warming up.

Parrett crushed an RBI ground-rule double in the seventh inning Friday to push Coastal Carolina’s lead to 4-0 at the time. He also had a successful sacrifice run earlier in the game to help set up the team’s first run.

“It means a lot,” he said of producing on this stage after a trying season. “But when I woke up this morning the day before was over and I knew we had another game tonight, and I was ready to go for that. So everything that happened in the past was done with and I just wanted to get out there and do my best for the team again.”

Etc.

Coastal Carolina is now tied with Florida for the NCAA Division I lead with 52 wins this season. …

The Chants are just the second team in the super regional era (since 1999) to make the College World Series and lead the NCAA in home runs, which they did with 94. But they have not hit one yet this week and have now gone a season-long five games overall without a homer. …

The Chants are the first team to debut in the College World Series and win multiple games since Vanderbilt in 2011. They are just the third such team to win three games, following Georgia Tech in 1994 and TCU in 2010. …

Coastal Carolina is now 29-0 when holding opponents to three runs or fewer and 31-6 when it scores first.