Just as it closed the Rosenblatt Stadium era of the College World Series with a national championship, the University of South Carolina began the TD Ameritrade Park era by repeating as champion, defeating Florida, 5-2, Tuesday night for a two-game sweep of the championship series.
As good a coaching job as USC's Ray Tanner did a season ago, he may have done an even better one in 2011.
He had to rebuild a starting rotation after losing Blake Cooper and Sam Dyson.
Former reliever Michael Roth, a surprise hero as a starter in the 2010 CWS, anchored the rotation from the beginning. After some tinkering, Colby Holmes and Forrest Koumas nailed down the second and third spots in the rotation.
Sidewinder John Taylor was brilliant as setup man and long-reliever, appearing in 50 games - one short of the NCAA record.
Matt Price had 20 saves - double his total from last season - and bounced back from a season-high 95 pitches in relief on Friday to close out both games of the championship series.
Newcomer Peter Mooney had some big shoes to fill at shortstop, replacing slick-fielding Bobby Haney. After some early struggles he fit right in with returnees Adrian Morales (third base), Scott Wingo (second base) and Christian Walker (first base).
Between the pitching staff and the infield, the Gamecocks escaped innumerable tight situations. The championship series first-game escape from a bases-loaded none-out situation was masterful, highlighted by two tremendous diving stops by Wingo, who then threw to home to get force outs.
Robert Beary proved to be an invaluable member of the squad, especially after outfielders Adam Matthews and Jackie Bradley Jr. went down with injuries and catcher Brady Thomas was slowed by a foot injury.
Wingo hit over .300 much of his junior season before fading down the stretch. He stayed above the .300 mark as a senior and played a key leadership role as one of the team captains.
His most outstanding player award could serve as a career reward for the former Mauldin High star, who improved his hitting to match his already outstanding defense.
Six teammates joined Wingo on the all-CWS team: Beary, Walker, Mooney, Thomas, Roth and Price. Interestingly, every member of the all-CWS team came from the three SEC East Division schools (Florida and Vanderbilt were the other two) which tied for the division's regular-season title with 22-8 records.
It marked the third straight CWS title for the SEC. LSU preceded USC in 2009.
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