CCU baseball notebook: Paez honored by Big South as Chanticleers climb rankings

Coastal Carolina sophomore Michael Paez was a bit short on breath while taking a quick break from baserunning drills Monday afternoon, and he didn’t seem to want to waste much of it talking about personal accolades.

After hitting .571 with eight runs scored, five RBIs, three doubles, a grand slam and three stolen bases over four games last week, the standout shortstop was named the Big South’s co-Player of the Week along with Campbell center fielder Cedric Mullins.

It was Paez’s second player of the week honor from the conference in a 16-game span, but he preferred to steer the conversation back to the Chanticleers’ collective success of late.

“As long as the team is winning it’s a great feeling knowing I’m playing well to help the team win,” he said. “We went up in the rankings, we won a series in the Big South, so that’s most important.”

The Chants (23-8, 7-2 Big South) moved up to No. 18 in Baseball America’s Top 25 poll this week after picking up a win at Wake Forest last Tuesday and taking two of three games against Longwood over the weekend.

Paez, whose defensive play at shortstop has been every bit as impressive as his recent offensive performance, had a pivotal diving stop against the Demon Deacons to throw a runner out at the plate and then hit a grand slam Friday night in a lopsided win over the Lancers.

Chants coach Gary Gilmore said after that game Friday that Paez “has played shortstop as well as anybody’s played it in my career” while also turning into the hitter the team was hoping to see in his second season.

“He’s hit the ball to right-center field more here in the last two to three weeks than he did. In the beginning, it was all pull, pull, pull,” Gilmore said. “… When Mike stays in the middle of the field, he’s really, really good.”

And the numbers speak on their own.

Overall, Paez has reached base in 29 of 30 games this season, but he was hitting just .203 after the Chants’ loss to Michigan State on March 8.

In his last 15 games, though, he’s batting a blistering .469 (23-of-49) with 18 runs scored, 21 RBIs, seven doubles, four home runs, seven walks, seven stolen bases and nine sacrifice bunts.

He now ranks second on the team with a .324 batting average, 28 RBIs and 30 runs scored while leading the squad with 13 doubles and tying for third with five homers.

“I was getting in my head a little bit, but the coaches helped me stay within my approach,” Paez said of his recent success. “[They told me to] just stick with it. It’s easy to get off it when you’re hitting .203, but just stick with it and it should come around. And I stuck with it.”

Moving on up

Despite taking a tough 10-7 loss Saturday in the series finale with Longwood after giving up four runs in the ninth inning, the Chants still jumped five spots in the Baseball America Top 25 poll to that No. 18 ranking.

They also received other national rankings of No. 22 (D1Baseball.com), No. 24 (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association), No. 25 (USA Today coaches poll) and No. 28 (Collegiate Baseball).

The Chants will look to score another marquee win as they travel to North Carolina on Tuesday for a rematch with the Tar Heels (18-13). Coastal Carolina won the teams’ first meeting, 13-2, on March 10 and is 5-0 overall against the ACC this season.

“It’s going to be a good game,” Paez said. “I know they’re after us because we won two in a row against them, especially at their park last year. So I know they’re out to get us and they know our track record against ACC play so they’re definitely going to come out firing. Hopefully we can match that intensity. It [would] be a big win coming off a loss.”

Marks setting the table

Paez isn’t the only top-of-the-order hitter on a tear for Coastal Carolina. Junior center fielder Anthony Marks has put up some ridiculous stats since moving to the leadoff role March 9.

In 16 games from the top spot in the order, Marks is hitting .446 with 22 runs scored and a .519 on-base percentage.

Not coincidentally, the Chants are 14-2 in that stretch.

Overall, Marks is batting a team-high .377 with 36 runs scored in 31 games, 14 RBIs, a .458 on-base percentage and 11 steals in 15 attempts.

Chadwick improving

Junior first baseman Tyler Chadwick said he is hoping to return to the lineup Tuesday after missing one game with a hamstring strain, but he wasn’t making any promises while reiterating that the decision is not his to make.

“I got treatment twice on Saturday when we had the game, took yesterday off and got treatment today so it’s feeling better,” Chadwick said Monday during practice. “The bruising is what they got a little worried about so they’re trying to give me a few days off, but I’m going to try to play [Tuesday]. It’s still up to coach Gilmore, whatever he says, but I think I’ll be ready tomorrow.”

Chadwick said the injury actually occurred during the March 20-22 series at UNC Asheville when he hit third base awkwardly rounding the bag. It worsened during the Longwood series and he was out of the lineup Saturday against the Lancers, leaving junior Zach Remillard to slide over from third base to first while sophomore Jack Curtis moved into the lineup at third.

Chadwick is third on the team with a .314 batting average and has three homers and 22 RBIs.

Etc.

▪ Freshman left-hander Shane Sawczak is scheduled to get the start Tuesday for the Chants, continuing his mid-week role. He is 1-1 with a 5.62 ERA over five starts and two relief appearances while drawing a tough string of ACC/SEC matchups.

▪ Coastal Carolina has won its last two meetings with North Carolina, including a 3-2 win in 11 innings last April in Chapel Hill, N.C. Overall, though, the Tar Heels lead the all-time series 42-17.

▪ North Carolina was ranked No. 17 when the Chants beat them earlier this season before since falling out of the Baseball America poll.

▪ Coastal Carolina is already just one win away from matching its total from last season, when it slumped to a 24-33 finish.

This story was originally published April 6, 2015 at 7:36 PM with the headline "CCU baseball notebook: Paez honored by Big South as Chanticleers climb rankings."