Holbrook Previews Gamecocks’ Regional Opener

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — The South Carolina baseball team will open its fourth straight home NCAA Regional on Friday against St. Louis. Head coach Chad Holbrook previewed the Gamecocks’ match-up with the Billikens Thursday. After serving four seasons as South Carolina’s associate head coach, this weekend will mark Holbrook’s first regional as head coach. “Things are very different this year. As an assistant I could go home and sleep prior to these things. Right now the sleep is a little harder to come by,” said Holbrook. The first-year head coach said his approach to preparing for regional play is exactly like former Gamecock head coach Ray Tanner. Tanner led South Carolina to two NCAA Division I Baseball Championships, a pair of national runner-up finishes, six College World Series appearances, three SEC championships, six SEC Eastern division titles, a SEC tournament crown and 13 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. “I learned so much from him. We’ve had a great program here for a long time. He’s done an incredible job and that’s why I tried to be a sponge during my years sitting right beside him, taking in everything he did and taught me. I think the reason the players say there’s not much difference or there’s not much change is because our practices are the same and our weight routine is the same. We haven’t changed the way we go about preparing to play. I said this when I got hired, but there will be Coach Tanner’s fingerprints all over this program for a long time and that’s going to stay the case as long as I’m the head coach,” Holbrook said. Holbrook also spoke about USC’s undefeated NCAA Tourney record at Carolina Stadium. “I don’t know if there’s a way to explain that. It’s an incredible streak. I think when you talk about the streak at home, you have to throw our fans into the equation. It’s an incredible atmosphere. I sat in the other dugout when I coached at North Carolina and I can speak to the difficulty of playing here when you are the opponent. I think our fans are great and our players are comfortable and confident here. It’s quite a home-field advantage we have here. But that being said, it doesn’t guarantee a win here tomorrow night,” he said. OTHER NOTES: – Holbrook said Max Schrock practiced Wednesday and took part in batting practice Thursday at Carolina Stadium. Holbrook said Schrock will be in the starting line-up on Friday. – The St. Louis baseball team heads to Columbia after an impressive 41-19 season. – Senior pitcher Nolan Belcher will get the start for the Gamecocks. DATES/TIMES/FORMAT Friday, May 31 Game 1 – No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Liberty – 1 p.m. (ESPN3) Game 2 – No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Saint Louis – 7 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPN3) Saturday, June 1 Game 3 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – 2 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3) Game 4 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 8 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3) Sunday, June 2 Game 5 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 – 1 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3) Game 6 – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4 – 7 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3) Monday, June 3 Game 7 – If Necessary – 7 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)