Holbrook has high hopes for new 2nd baseman Max Schrock
While the South Carolina infield has lost only one starter from the 2012 season, it will look vastly different from a year ago.
With first baseman Christian Walker moving on to professional baseball, former third baseman LB Dantzler will slide over to take over for Walker. Last year’s second baseman, Chase Vergason, will take over at third.
The shakeup was done solely for the benefit of the team, and that’s all that matters for Dantzler.
“I talked to Coach Holbrook about it a little bit in the fall, and we decided that it definitely makes us better as a team at this point in time,” the senior said. “I still take reps over there, and I can go back over there if I need to, but at this point in time it is all about winning, and if they think that we are going to be a better team and can win more games with me over at first, then that is what I want to do.”
Freshman Max Schrock is projected to take over Vergason’s spot at second base. The Chapel Hill, N.C., native has been committed to the Gamecocks for more than three years and impressed Holbrook and his coaching staff in the fall and spring.
The first-year coach said he may have put too much pressure on Schrock, but it is only because he believes the freshman is “really, really good.”
“If we played today and I wrote the lineup up, (Schrock) would be in the 3-hole,” Holbrook said at a press conference three weeks before the season. “That’s a heck of a compliment for a freshman. But the thing with Max is: I don’t look at him as a freshman. He’s a freshman in his first year of college, but he has played a lot of baseball.”
Holbrook also said he believes Schrock will be able to handle the expectations because Walker batted in the 3-hole as a freshman and Bobby Cox, former manager of Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves, didn’t hesitate putting Chipper Jones in the hole his rookie year, “so I’m not going to hesitate putting Max Schrock in there.”
Schrock said he is excited to get out and finally play for the Gamecocks and is happy with the trust that the coaching staff already has in him.
The freshman also said Vergason really “showed me the ropes” of playing second base and was a big help in his development over the fall and spring.
Sophomore shortstop Joey Pankake and sophomore catcher Grayson Greiner are the two infielders returning to their positions from the 2012 season. Both players are coming off impressive freshman campaigns. Pankake hit .264 with two homeruns and 27 RBIs last season. Greiner hit .222, with six homeruns and 32 RBIs, and was also named to the Freshman All-American team.
Pankake has shown more power this spring, and Holbrook said the team is really counting on the Easley, S.C., native to be one of the leaders of the baseball team.
“We need Joey to have a big year. He can be an All-American–type player,” Holbrook said. “We’re counting on Joey. He needs to lead us in the dugout and out on the field. We’re not going to have the season that we want to have if Joey Pankake has a mediocre year. He’s that important to us.”
Greiner said he feels more comfortable on the field than he did when he was a freshman and plans on improving his average.
“The first year you’re trying to get your feet wet, learn all the coaches, learn how to communicate with your teammates and stuff, but I feel a lot more comfortable out here this year,” Greiner said. “I have high expectations for myself and for this team, and I think we’re going to reach them.”