Chants still far from goals as NCAA regionals open

Before this season started, Coastal Carolina baseball coach Gary Gilmore said these Chanticleers had a chance to be special.

That was the word he chose, and this now is their opportunity to truly fulfill that potential.

With the program’s first Big South regular-season and tournament titles since 2012, their most wins since 2010 and an incredible stretch of 31 victories in their last 37 games, the Chants have warranted any number of complimentary adjectives to this point.

But the legacy for this team and its place in the lore of Coastal Carolina baseball will be determined by what happens starting Friday, as the No. 15-ranked and second-seeded Chants (44-15) open the NCAA Raleigh Regional against No. 3-seed Saint Mary’s (33-23) at NC State’s Doak Field.

The Chants are hoping to advance through the four-team double-elimination regional that also includes host NC State (35-20) along with Navy (42-14-1) and reach the NCAA super regionals for the first time since 2010 and the third time in program history.

“We think we can do it. All year this is what we’ve worked for. This is the moment that you spend all those hours in the offseason, getting up early and lifting, this is what it’s all for,” senior first baseman Tyler Chadwick said. “... It’s one of those things you want to do is leave your legacy when you come here.”

Just as the preseason excitement seemed so justified a few months ago, there is a very strong sense that this is the Chants’ best chance at advancing through the regionals in a handful of years.

The program’s resurgence began in earnest last season as Coastal Carolina returned to the NCAA regionals after missing out in 2014 for the first time in eight years, and now the next step awaits.

“We kind of expected to be in this spot at the beginning of the year, to have a chance to compete in a regional that we know that we can take home the trophy and move on to the next level,” senior left fielder Anthony Marks said. “But we’ve got to take it one pitch at a time and stick with the process.”

If there’s one thing Gilmore has emphasized since the bracket was unveiled, it’s not to look ahead.

Saint Mary’s is making its first ever NCAA regionals appearance, but the Gaels will be led by a star pitcher in 6-foot-3 junior right-hander Corbin Burnes (9-1, 2.23 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 97 innings) who could be a first-round draft pick next week.

“This is a better opportunity than probably last year going into [the College Station (Texas) Regional], but [in terms] of overall regional I really haven’t looked at it that much. We’ve got enough problems with Saint Mary’s on Friday,” Gilmore said. “We’re going to have to really compete and play one of our best games all year both offensively and pitching-wise to really have a chance to compete against those guys.”

What the Chants have going for them is a healthy roster for the first time in several years. That lost 2014 season, when they tumbled to a 24-33 record, was marred by injuries across the lineup and pitching staff.

Even last year as the team put itself back in the postseason picture, it headed into the NCAA regionals without its top two pitchers or leading power hitter due to injury.

With a core of veterans now who have weathered through their share of setbacks and challenges to get to this point, and who have delivered a depth of impressive performances this spring, the Chants have what seems like an obvious window to capitalize on with this group.

Senior right fielder Connor Owings (.383 batting average, 15 home runs, 49 RBIs), senior third baseman Zach Remillard (.348-18-65), Chadwick (.272-7-42), Marks (.408 on-base percentage, 44 runs) and senior closer Mike Morrison (7-1, eight saves, 0.87 ERA) and will be gone after this run ends.

Junior shortstop Michael Paez (.292-14-48) and junior designated hitter G.K. Young (.339-15-60) could have decisions to make as well.

“I hope for them. We’ll all be back here next year and I want to continue to try to develop and get to a point where we’re like this or better than this again a year or so down the road, but for them, I want it for them,” Gilmore said. “It’s not about me or whatever. They’ve worked hard enough to get in this position, they want a chance to win beyond here. So we’ll see. I think they have the ability to do it. Can we just really lock in focus-wise and execute the things we need to execute?”

That’s what the Chants will try to prove this weekend.

“We’re only two checkmarks down with the regular-season and the tournament championship,” Marks said. “We’ve got a long way to go still.”

NOTES: Morrison was named a Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball first-team All-American on Thursday while Owings and junior right-hander Andrew Beckwith were named second-team All-American selections. That marks the first time Coastal Carolina has placed three players on that All-American team in the same season, while Morrison joins Mike Costanzo (2005) as the only Chants to be named first-team on that particular list.

This story was originally published June 2, 2016 at 7:57 PM with the headline "Chants still far from goals as NCAA regionals open."