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E-MailSouth Carolina coach Ray Tanner was somewhat elated Monday afternoon.
Entering his 16th season with the Gamecocks, he had just watched his squad wrap its ninth and final scrimmage of the preseason. Tanner still has a few roster moves to make, but many of the starting positions and rotation spots already are decided in advance of Friday’s season opener at home against VMI.
“I’m happy we were able to get all our work in,” Tanner said after Monday’s final scrimmage. “Some teams missed out on a couple of their preseason scrimmages. Always want to be a little bit better than you are, but we had a pretty tempo today. I think they’re ready to play.”
Tanner was not ready to give out his starting lineup, but he said at least one of the team’s heralded freshman will be in the opening day lineup. Tanner English will get the starting nod in left field and join junior Evan Marzilli and senior Adam Matthews in a speedy outfield.
“I’m going to start Tanner English,” Tanner said. “I can’t have that guy on the bench right now. He’s sort of got to play himself out. There’s so much ability there. He can change a game with his speed. As time goes on, if he’s not doing well, that will be a decision. He’s going to be in the lineup Opening Day.”
English was a 13th-round selection in baseball’s amateur draft this past season after being an all-state selection from St. James High near Myrtle Beach. He likely will hit near the bottom of the order, but if he shows he can consistently get on base, he could push for at-bats higher in the order.
Arms Race
USC does not play a midweek game until after the second weekend series against Elon, and that will leave Tanner with several options out of the bullpen for the first two weekends.
Toward the end of last season, Tanner usually turned the game over to rubber-armed John Taylor — who appeared in a school record 50 games on the mound — then to All-America closer Matt Price.
Nolan Belcher is back after missing last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He had several impressive outings in the preseason and will be counted on to pitch in long relief and start mid-week games.
Two other returners, Patrick Sullivan and Adam Westmoreland, also could be candidates for the role, but several newcomers will get opportunities. Joel Seddon, Evan Beal, Vince Fiori, Jordan Montgomery and Hunter Privette all have pitched well enough to be considered.
“It’s good to have some choices,” Tanner said. “I’m not sure I have the answers right now, but hopefully (pitching) coach (Jerry) Myers does. There’s a lot of guys I like, and as I watch them, I think ‘Where are they going to fit?’ That’s a challenge for us. We do have some capable people, but we’ve got to get them in the right spots.”
Roster Cuts
The Gamecocks must have their final 34-man roster into the SEC office by 3 p.m. on Thursday. There are currently 37 players vying for those spots.
One of the more intriguing players in the mix is freshman Ahmad Christian. The USC football player missed fall practice while redshirting with the football team but has had several impressive outings. He plays second base, one of deepest positions of scholarship players, so he might be caught in a numbers crunch.
“Amhad Christian is a guy that doesn’t really have his baseball feet under him, but every day he looks better and better,” Tanner said. “There’s days we need that guy with us, there’s other days he probably needs to wait a year. It’s not easy. In our game, walk-ons are a big deal. (It’s) going to be some tough decisions later in the week.”
Sold out
The USC ticket office announced that Friday’s opener against VMI is sold out. Standing-room only tickets still are available for the games on Saturday and Sunday.
