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E-MailAs USC baseball recruiting coordinator Chad Holbrook looked to the future nearly two years ago, he realized he would need to find replacements in the middle of the batting order for players such as Jackie Bradley, Adrian Morales and Brady Thomas before the 2012 season rolled around.
Enter LB Dantzler.
Holbrook found South Carolina’s newest third baseman in the Florida junior college ranks and instantly saw a top-shelf hitter.
“I didn’t worry about his bat. LB has hit his whole life,” Holbrook said. “It was easy to see. Between his stats and watching him work out, that was the easy part of it. I knew he would be a guy to hit in our lineup.”
Dantzler came to Columbia last summer off a sophomore season at the State College of Florida in which he batted .415 with 13 home runs and 50 RBIs, numbers that made him the Suncoast Conference player of the year and a junior-college honorable mention All-American.
After a standout fall practice and a strong preseason, the 5-foot-11, 205-pound Dantzler got to show he was for real in USC’s first three games of the season against VMI last weekend. Batting in the cleanup spot, the left-handed hitter picked up the game-winning single in the eighth inning of the season-opening 2-1 victory and delivered a three-run homer in a seven-run rally that blew the series finale open in a 13-1 win.
Holbrook was hopeful Dantzler would respond to playing for the first time in front of Carolina Stadium’s big crowds.
“You didn’t know how he was going to react, but he looked very comfortable. He’s very mature, which makes you think that he’s going to do well no matter who he’s playing against,” Holbrook said. “He’s not going to be afraid of the stage, and he’s not going to be afraid of the bright lights that are on him. We don’t see any reason why that won’t continue.”
For his part, Dantzler downplays his 4-for-11 start and five RBIs as being too early to make real judgments on his future success. But he was thrilled to get some key hits in front of the three crowds that averaged 7,751 fans and help his team win all three games.
“The atmosphere was unbelievable playing in front of 8,000 (fans). I’ve never really done anything like that before,” Dantzler said. “The first game, I was more nervous than I thought I would be. I was more excited than anything. After the jitters went out, it just became baseball again, and I started having fun. I was glad to get off to a good start, but it’s still only three games. I haven’t really done that much yet.”
He has, however, begun to provide protection for No. 3 hitter Christian Walker, the All-American first baseman who led the Gamecocks in nearly every offensive category last season. He likes the idea that they can supply punch for a team that’s looking to defend back-to-back national championships.
“Having someone like him hit in front of you is unbelievable. I’ve never had anything like that in my life,” Dantzler said. “Everybody is pretty much in awe of him. It definitely helps to have someone like that, and it takes a little bit of the pressure off. We’re both going to get a chance to do some damage.”
Dantzler wasn’t recruited by any power-conference schools coming out of his Winter Haven, Fla., high school and opted to take the junior-college route, where he helped lead his team to the JC World Series as a freshman and then broke out in a big way as a sophomore. He was getting offers from Stetson, Florida International and Tampa, but he longed to go to an SEC school like his father, Brad Dantzler, who played in 1983-84 for Florida, where he led the Gators with a .348 average in 1983.
When Holbrook came calling, Dantzler was quickly sold. He loved both Carolina Stadium and the USC campus — so much so that he cancelled a planned visit to LSU.
“It’s tough to beat. I knew this is where I wanted to be. The main reasons I chose to come here were, one, the tradition and how great of a program it is, and two, I knew Coach (Ray) Tanner liked junior college guys,” Dantzler said. “They were losing Adrian so I knew that I would have the chance to come in and compete and win a job. Now that I’m here, it’s just really exciting that it’s actually happening. I couldn’t be happier.”
His actual name, like that of his father, is Brad, but he always has been called LB, a nickname from his parents that stands for “Little Brad.” And he’s happy to be making a name for himself as the new third baseman. Holbrook wasn’t sure where Dantzler would fit in defensively because the junior played a variety of positions in junior college. But he soon found a home at the hot corner in USC’s depleted infield.
“Right from the get-go, he looked very comfortable at third,” Holbrook said. “We’ve been ecstatic with the way he has played defense.”
He also sees Dantzler as a perfect fit for a program that has thrived on team-first players the past two seasons.
“He’s a great kid and a hard worker. He’s always in the (batting) cage and always hitting. He’s almost like a kid in the candy store every day down here,” Holbrook said. “He’s happy-go-lucky, bouncing off the walls, and so excited to be here and out on that field. You can tell he’s really appreciative for the opportunity he’s been given. It’s kind of refreshing.”
But Dantzler refuses to get too excited — or set a bunch of big personal goals — unless he can also find a way to translate all of it into wins.
“I try to take it one at-bat at a time. I try to win every pitch and win every at-bat,” he said. “If all of us do that, hopefully, we’ll win a lot of games and see where it goes.”
