Coaches confident Bilous can help Chanticleers bounce back

In the big picture, this is precisely the sort of game Jason Bilous was recruited for, the kind of high-stakes, marquee matchup he was meant to pitch in for Coastal Carolina.

Eventually, that is.

It has been an inconsistent freshman season for the talented right-hander – and understandably so – as he completed his recovery from Tommy John surgery while at the same time adjusting to the collegiate level. But as the Chanticleers now face an elimination game in the College World Series on Thursday night against Texas Tech, coaches believe the rookie is their best option on the mound at this point with their season on the line.

“I have great confidence in him. He’s come a million miles and if he throws a ton of strikes; we’ll be in that ballgame the whole entire time he’s out there,” Chants head coach Gary Gilmore said. “At this point we are where we are, and we’ve been in this position several times and he’s answered the call the last two or three times out being in a situation like this, a huge game ... so I think he’ll do a great job.”

Gilmore had made it clear after Coastal Carolina’s 6-1 loss to TCU on Tuesday night at TD Ameritrade Park that he would not rush junior ace Andrew Beckwith back on the mound after he threw a complete game in a win over Florida on Sunday.

Beckwith would likely be available Friday, though, if the Chants (50-17) advance to a rematch with the Horned Frogs, pitching coach Drew Thomas said.

In the meanwhile, he too believes Bilous gives the team its best available matchup with Texas Tech (47-19).

“I think he matches up well with them. The kid that threw for TCU against them [Sunday] is a little similar, a late action guy. We’ll see how that goes,” Thomas said. “He hasn’t pitched in a while, but he hasn’t shown he’s scared of the moment – in the championship game of the conference tournament and the regional. He was a little uncomfortable [at N.C. State] with the rain and the mound there but pushed through and made some pitches when he needed to so I think he’ll be fine.”

Bilous comes into the game with a 3-1 record, 4.04 earned-run average and 45 strikeouts with 31 walks in 42 1/3 innings.

He was the Chants’ top incoming recruit this year and said last summer that he had turned down a $600,000 offer from the Los Angeles Dodgers after they took him in the 29th round of the draft.

After some early struggles with his command, he made just one start between mid-March and early May while working instead out of the bullpen in non-pressure situations, but he showed his potential down the stretch of the season while earning wins in three of his last four starts.

The most encouraging performance came in the Big South championship game against Liberty on May 28 when he allowed just two hits over 5 1/3 scoreless innings and racked up five strikeouts with no walks in an eventual 1-0 win.

He pitched in the NCAA regionals against N.C. State the next week and was not so crisp while yielding six hits, three walks and two runs over 3 2/3 innings in a no decision.

Bilous hasn’t pitched in a game since that start on June 6 in Raleigh, N.C., but he doesn’t expect that to have any effect when he takes the mound Thursday night.

“I’ve been throwing some pens on the side so I feel great,” he said. “I was a little rusty, I obviously haven’t pitched in two weeks, but towards the end I had all three pitches going so I’m going to be good.”

That game at N.C. State was a tough spot for any pitcher as rain pushed the start of it back an hour and 40 minutes. Bilous would also head out after that game to travel for his grandfather’s funeral, so it was a tough set of circumstances overall.

The Chants are no doubt hoping for the same pitcher who threw that gem against Liberty in the Big South title game.

“It’s just another game on a bigger stage. I’m just going to approach it as another game and see how it goes,” Bilous said in his typically low-key way. “I’m not trying to think too much about how many people there are or how much pressure there is on me or anything like that. I’m just [taking it] as another game.”

Texas Tech has scored three runs in each of its first two College World Series games, but the Red Raiders have averaged 6.9 runs per game this season. They have a threatening lineup with Tanner Gardner (.378 batting average, 19 doubles, six triples, three home runs), Eric Gutierrez (.330, 17 doubles, 13 HRs, 60 RBIs), Cory Raley (.328, 14 doubles, two triples, 6 HRs, 53 RBIs), Stephen Smith (.311, 18 doubles, three triples, 10 HRs, 39 RBIs) and Tyler Neslony (.307, 21 doubles, 10 HRs, 58 RBIs) leading the way.

The Coastal Carolina coaches would be thrilled if Bilous can get the Chants through five innings as sophomore reliever Bobby Holmes and senior closer Mike Morrison will both be ready to go out of the bullpen after short outings Tuesday.

“That’s why we tried to keep Bobby and Mike at 30 pitches right there because we knew we had the day off, and also to get those two out in the game I think that was huge just to get them out there,” Thomas said. “Five innings is huge and I think Beckwith would be fine to come back that next day if we win.”

This story was originally published June 22, 2016 at 7:47 PM with the headline "Coaches confident Bilous can help Chanticleers bounce back."