Not quite ready for Omaha

Thanks to Steve Maass for sending this picture of Christian Walker's blast that sent the Gamecocks to Omaha

One of the most exciting 10 days of covering local sports in Myrtle Beach has come to a close. When it was all said and done, ticket gate still had 40 percent of the crowd wearing garnet and the national exposure for Coastal Carolina is always invaluable for the University.

In 2008, I was in Cary, NC when the Chanticleers were totally dominated by the North Carolina Tar Heels. CCU looked like a program that was not quite ready to step into college baseball's elite. I feel that this past weekend was a big step forward towards the Chanticleers ultimate goal towards making it to Omaha. That's little consolation to Gary Gilmore, who knew that this was a team that had the tools to take that next step.

In a nutshell, I think the two game Gamecocks sweep came down to defense. There were probably a half dozen plays by USC that were worthy of a star in the scorecard. From Scott Wingo's double play to great plays in the outfield and make the routine plays, the Gamecocks didn't give CCU anything extra. If Coastal plays error free baseball on Sunday, they cruise to a game two win. If Matt Rein doesn't turn his ankle on the first play on Saturday perhaps he makes the throw on the next play that triggered the Gamecocks three run first inning.

Gilly was backed into a corner. When it was Saturday at noon he had his two starters that were completely out of gas. Anthony Meo threw just 13 pitches in the Super Regional. If CCU were able to pull out that second game, Meo would have had the ball in game three in what would have been advantage CCU. Cody Wheeler's last game as a Chant was maligned by errors.

Austin Fleet was one pitch away from a 2 run lead heading to the 9th. Jackie Bradley, Jr's patience to draw a walk sparked an Adrian Morales double and Walker's three run blast that seemed to travel to the Sheraton. The Chants were one power arm short out of the bullpen.

If there's one positive that CCU can take out of it is that they learned that they are a national power. There were some across the state and even the nation that thought the SEC big boy would come to the beach and blow away the Big South cinderella. Jackie Bradley, Jr and Christian Walker were quick to answer the question if CCU was an SEC caliber team with a response of "yes".

Gary Gilmore said after the game that Omaha never felt so far away to him. When time passes and the summer months rage on, Gilly will recharge and once again put CCU in the national conversation. It may not be a 55 win team, but as CCU fans are learning, all that matters is what happens in June. It shouldn't be discounted that this is a program that is revered across the nation and one day it will get to Omaha.

Ray Tanner is one of the classiest people to deal with in Palmetto state sports. He is now taking USC to Omaha for the fourth time in his career. The Gamecocks will no doubt be underdogs in the field of eight, but if they can grind like they did this past weekend in Myrtle Beach, you never know what could happen.