Fisch Tank: Baseball Preview

Thanks for diving into the first baseball edition of the Fisch Tank!

I was extremely excited to finally see the college baseball season get underway, and here is my take after the first weekend of the 2008 campaign.

COASTAL CAROLINA
We'll start with games I saw first hand at Coastal Carolina, definitely a situational team. Nothing new for Gary Gilmore and the Chants who are trying to recapture the lightning in a bottle they had last season. It will all come down to clutch hitting and bullpen help. Dock Doyle provided a glimpse of what could be a great season for the backstop, in the IMIC tourney; he went yard in the opening game against Maryland and delivered a game winning single on the next day. As for the starting pitching Bobby Gagg will get the job done and Austin Fleet opened up strong against Maryland going 6 1/3 innings. Nick McCully looked good in his game against Va Tech striking out 8, yet Rich Witten looked shaky on Monday. His defense bailed him out of some serious jams. But it's only the opening weekend so it's way too soon to criticize. Still the game at College of Charleston is a scary glimpse of what could be for Coastal, who used six pitchers in relief after Jake Goldberg left the game with the lead. Guess what; they lost by allowing 5 runs in the bottom of ninth..ouch!
This Week:
This week they play host to the Baseball at the Beach tournament. where they will welcome in the Thundering Herd of Marshall. The Herd is limping into Myrtle Beach at 1-2, and Bobby Gagg will get the start Friday and Fleet to follow on Saturday against West Virginia. Sunday they will do the double dip against Western Carolina and George Mason. I have a gut feeling they'll go 2-2, they need to get the big bats working.

South Carolina
There is no question these guys can make the scoreboard look like the now serving light at the Deli. USC's top three hitters (Havens, Merrifield and Darnell) ripped the cover off the ball this past weekend. Especially the lead off hitter Reese Havens, through four games he is slugging an ungodly 1.133%, not to mention his .696 on base percentage. He took some of the spotlight off of Justin Smoak. But like all the teams in the Palmetto State, the bullpen is a cause for concern. Curtis Johnson looked stellar in his first relief appearance of the season, yet he may have to be a horse to eat some innings for the Gamecocks. Starting pitching could be suspect as well, except for Mike Cisco, Ray Tanner will more than likely be toying with the rotation for a little while. Sophomore Blake Cooper looked suspect on the back end of the double header on Saturday against ECU. Coop worked only 3 innings giving up 6 runs in which only 3 were earned. That won't get it done, they are expecting good things from him and more than likely it will have to be a wait and see game.
This Week:
This week the first big test of the season will arrive at the Sarge. Clemson and South Carolina will lock horns in a home and home series. Cisco will go head to head with the Tigers ace Ryan Hinson, who had a solid outing in the opener against Mercer. The way these two teams are swinging the bats to start the season, add in the lack of depth in the bullpen, we could be seeing football like scores. USC will follow up the big rivalry with a couple of cupcakes, Gardner-Webb and Charlotte. I've got USC at 3-1 over the next four. Cooper will likely get the nod at Clemson, but I think they should turn to junior Will Atwood and see if he can prove that he belongs in the starting role.

Clemson
Bar none the feel good story of the spring comes out of Clemson, where shortstop Stan Widmann is show stopping. Widmann underwent neck surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis a year ago to repair vertebrae in his spine. Now he is starting at the most versatile position in the field and leading off the Tigers lineup. Against Mercer the first three batters (Widmann, Boyd, and Hogan) were incredible. Especially Boyd, who rocked 4 homers, ripped in 9 RBI and slugged a remarkable 1.188%. With the loss of the big three last year, Clemson needs to find some pop in the lineup and Boyd might be the key as well as Chris Epps, who looked like a nice replacement to Brad Chalk. Starting pitching is better than USCs' but is still suspect. They'll end up platooning the bullpen because of their youth. The Tiger's are a mixture of the other two teams on this breakdown. Clemson will be a squad that can blow out teams and at times have to be clutch to get over their youth.
This Week:
The home and home series with the in state rival South Carolina will be a great test. Getting to Cisco could be difficult with the game being played in Columbia. Yet, like I said earlier both teams’ bats have come out of the gates scolding hot. The Tigers will have better luck in their home game, especially if the Gamecocks toss Cooper. Following up USC on the schedule will be Wofford and Wake Forest. The ACC play will begin with the Deacons, and I don't see the Tigers' bats slowing down. Clemson will go 3-1 this week.

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