Columbia Region 2014 Baseball World Series Breakdown
South Carolina, Maryland, Old Dominion, Campbell
South Carolina is looking to recreate their 2011 success, when they won the national title, and this team is a veteran group that has a chance. The Gamecocks were dominant at the start of the season, but injuries slowed the team down during SEC play. Offensively, South Carolina is led by four juniors; Kyle Martin, Grayson Greiner, Joe Pankake and Tanner English. Greiner is the biggest threat at the plate, hitting 8 home runs and driving in 50 runs this season, while the other three have driven in 33, 29 and 24 runs, respectively. The Gamecocks could be getting a huge boost, as injured starters Max Schrock and Connor Bright could be returning to play. Schrock hit five home runs in just 31 games and Bright was leading the team with a .331 batting average before he was hurt. South Carolina’s bread and butter is their pitching staff though. Junior Joel Seddon is a dominant closer, as he has picked up 14 saves while maintaining a 0.85 ERA. The rotation is great as well, as Jack Wynkoop, Jordan Montgomery and Will Crowe all have seven wins and ERA’s of 3.52 or better. If South Carolina gets healthy, watch out for them to make a run in the tournament.
Maryland, Old Dominion and Campbell will round out the Columbia Regional. Maryland is a young team, but they rely on two very good seniors to lead the way. Jake Stinnett is the ace of the staff with a 7-6 record and a 2.60 ERA and Blake Schmit is a key member of the lineup, hitting .310 with 26 RBI’s and 16 stolen bases. Pitchers Mike Shawaryn, 10-3 with a 2.70 ERA, and Jake Drossne, 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA, round out the rotation, while sophomore Jose Cuas has five home runs and 41 RBI’s and freshman Brandon Lowe has a .346 batting average and 37 RBI’s. Old Dominion will rely on veterans to try and win this regional. The Monarchs have two seniors in their rotation, Andy Roberts and Ryan Yarbrough, and a senior closer in Brad Geno. Both Roberts and Yarbrough have six win and ERA’s of 3.01 and 4.52, respectively, while Geno has 12 saves and an ERA of 2.77. Two seniors, Josiah Burney and Ben Slaton, who have driven in 41 and 40 runs apiece this season, anchor their lineup. Rounding out the group is a very dangerous Campbell team that is looking for revenge after being left out of last year’s field despite a 49-10 record. The Camels are another veteran team, as their top four pitchers and top hitter are either juniors or seniors.
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