Herb throws gem as Coastal Carolina baseball team wins opener

CONWAY The plan last season for Coastal Carolina was to thrust rookie right-hander Tyler Herb into the rotation and see if he could settle in while allowing the Chanticleers to save some of their veteran arms for the later innings. Well, that was coach Gary Gilmore’s initial thought, at least.

That plan was scrapped quickly as Herb struggled with his command and was shifted to a limited bullpen role, making only two starts all spring.

Now a sophomore, though, the righty showed Friday that he just might be ready for a spotlight role as a key cog in the weekend rotation.

Taking the mound for Coastal before a strong crowd of 1,227 on opening day at Watson Stadium, Herb held visiting James Madison to one run over seven innings while leading the Chants to a thorough 7-1 victory.

“We made some good defensive plays, Tyler threw strikes -- you know, [those are] things that probably kept me up at night so far this spring,” Gilmore said. “We showed flashes of some offense, some baserunning. I think [for the] first time out with so many new faces, I thought they did a great job.”

Juniors Bryce Dial and Sloan Gilliam -- two of the team’s many newcomers -- each knocked in a run in a pivotal four-run fifth inning as the Chants seized control of the game for good.

Dial finished 2 for 4 with a triple, two runs and that RBI to lead the way offensively, while Herb settled in on the mound.

After finishing with a ho-hum 4.33 earned-run average over 17 appearances last season, Herb was terrific Friday while yielding seven hits and no walks to go with four strikeouts as he earned his first collegiate win.

“I felt good. As the game went on a little bit longer, I felt a little more settled,” he said. “During my bullpen warmup I was talking to [pitching coach Drew Thomas] a little bit, and I said ‘I’m not nearly as nervous as I was last year.’”

It showed. Herb, who started the second game of the 2011 season for Coastal, opened the 2012 campaign with a strikeout, getting James Madison leadoff man Johnny Bladel to chase a breaking ball.

He retired the side in order in the first inning, got out of the second with another strikeout following a two-out double and worked around a harmless single in the third. After allowing a run in the top of the fourth, Herb cruised through the fifth, stranded another runner at second in the sixth and buckled down after a leadoff single in the seventh to keep the Dukes at bay.

“His greatest nemisis is the strike zone -- or at least it was a year ago,” Gilmore said of Herb. “He thew like that in intrasquad [scrimmage] the other day, and if he can do that over the course of the year, that kid will help us a lot.”

Coastal went ahead in the bottom of the second when Dial -- a junior college transfer who started at designated hitter -- roped a one-out single past the third baseman, took second on a wild pitch and came around to score on senior catcher Tucker Frawley’s single to left field.

With the game tied through four and a half innings, the Chants got a one-out double from sophomore Jacob May in the bottom of the fifth to spark a four-run outburst. Senior third baseman Rich Witten followed with a walk, and May came around to score on a steal of third and a wild throw from the catcher that allowed him to head home.

“It was a close game, and I really wanted to do something to spark the [team],” said May, who is another sophomore looking to bounce back after a trying rookie season. “Our team works off momentum, and that was a big momentum changer.”

Indeed it was. Gilliam -- another junior college transfer who debuted as Coastal’s starting first baseman -- then knocked an RBI single up the middle, Dial delivered an RBI triple to deep right-centerfield a couple batters later and he then scored on a botched pickoff throw to first base by James Madison reliever Michael Howerton.

The Chants tacked on two more runs in the sixth on a balk by reliever Chris Huffman and a fielding error.

Freshman right-hander Chris Harrison, yet another newcomer to the program, closed out the win for Coastal with two scoreless innings, allowing four hits, no walks and striking out two.

Gilmore has said repeatedly he doesn’t know what to expect from the Chants early this season with so many new faces on the roster, but they sure made a strong first impression Friday.

And they’ll return to the field Saturday for a clash with ACC power Virginia, and if weather permits, a matchup with Boston College -- a game originally scheduled for Sunday.

“I think we showed that we came here to compete,” Dial said. “We’re ready to play with the best of them tomorrow.”