Holbrook delivers message to fans on 107.5 The Game
South Carolina baseball coach Chad Holbrook has his share of vocal detractors.
With six SEC series complete, Holbrook and the Gamecocks are running out of opportunities to get a disappointing season back on track.
But heading into a pivotal home SEC series with surprise division leader Kentucky at Founders Park this weekend, Holbrook made his weekly appearance on 107.5 The Game will Jay Phillips and Tommy Moody and apologized to the fan base for his comments in response to a fan in hopes of returning focus to the team.
"I want to say something to our fans out there that follow us and pull for us and cheer for us," Holbrook said. "Last week after the big win over Davidson, I responded to a negative comment that came out of the stands and I didn't handle it the right way. And I want to apologize to our fans.
"South Carolina baseball is successful because of the home field advantage we have, because of the atmosphere that is created at Founders Park. When I walk a recruit through Founders Park, and I sit down and talk with them, all I talk to them about is the fans they get to play in front of, the sold-out stadium, the atmosphere here at Founders Park, and all that is created because of the loyal following we have.
"I just want to apologize to those folks. Our fans were terrific; we don't win without them. We're in the fight of our lives here to finish this season strong and get on top of the SEC standings. We're going to need their help. We're going to need them in the stands and we're going to need that passion that is synonymous with South Carolina baseball.
"I hope like crazy they'll fill those seats and come cheer for these kids, because we've got good boys, we've got good kids that have worked extremely hard. We've had some bad luck here and there, we've had some tough losses. But everything is still in front of us and we need our fans to push us over the top and help get us there."
If South Carolina is going to fix its season, it will have to do so without ace starter Clarke Schmidt. The school announced Tuesday morning that Schmidt (4-2, 1.42 ERA) is out for the rest of the season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament to his right elbow
"We were devastated for Clarke because this kid is a special kid, I don't know if anybody's worked harder, if anybody's heart is more in the right place than this young man," Holbrook said. "And clean-cut, comes from a great family, obviously went through a tough time last summer with his brother, Clate, who was diagnosed with cancer and we were devastated for him. And Clarke was very, very emotional and he wasn't worried about himself, he was worried about his teammates. That just goes to show you the type of kid Clarke is."
Carolina will move its regular weekend pitchers up a day with Wil Crowe starting on Friday and Adam Hill on Saturday. Holbrook said he wasn't sure yet who would start Sunday, but it would be determined by how the bullpen is used during the first two games.
"You can feel sorry for yourself or you can have the attitude that someone is going to step up and fill Clarke's shoes," Holbrook said. "It might not be one person, it might be three, four, five guys who step in that role. Hopefully the team will rally around Clarke, the team will rally around each other, and we'll create some momentum here.
"The league is so jumbled, the league is so close, we're one weekend away from being in first place in the SEC East. If we can create some momentum Friday night in a Friday night atmosphere, maybe that will set us up for a great finish to our season."