Some belated Christmas/early New Year's wishes

OK. I admit I didn't think of this topic until I was taking a shower today (sorry for that imagery), but here are some belated Christmas wishes - or early New Year's wishes, if you prefer - for state college baseball programs.

Anderson -- 1. Tighter defense. 2. Someone to step up and be ace of the pitching staff.

Benedict -- A smooth transition from Capital City Stadium to its new fulltime home.  Regardless of field dimensions, the Tigers' run, run, run offensive mindset shouldn't need any adjusting as long as Benedict's players can get to first place.

Charleston Southern -- Someone willing to pop for the cost of lights at the baseball field. Playing day games only isn't conducive to developing a steady fan following.

Claflin -- Enough newcomers to step in so the Panthers will have chance to repeat as SIAC East Division champions.

Clemson -- 1. A way to get out of the shadow of that program in Columbia.  Going back to the Bill Wilhelm era, Clemson has set the standard for baseball excellence in South Carolina. While both Clemson and South Carolina have flourished for the past few decades, the Gamecocks have had the Tigers' number - by a slight margin - over the past several years.  As heated as the Clemson-USC rivalry is, that doesn't set well with Tigers fans. It likely gnaws at Clemson coach Jack Leggett, too, and may remain to do so until the Tigers regain the upper hand. 2. Offense. 3. Offense. 4. Offense. The Tigers hit just .269 as a team last season. Offensive leaders Richie Shaffer, Phil Pohl and Brad Felder are gone. Someone needs to take over. 5. Someone to take charge of the closer role.

Coastal Carolina -- 1. A healthy Josh Conway as he returns from Tommy John surgery. 2. A chance to break the glass ceiling and advance to the College World Series. 3. Enough good weather to keep work on the on-campus stadium on schedule.

Coker -- 1. A couple of pitchers to step into the starting rotation behind the steady Tyler Witzel. 2. Continued good health for standout hitter Brinley Griffin.

College of Charleston -- 1.  A change of heart by the Board of Trustees and a decision to stay in the Southern Conference instead of moving to the Colonial Athletic Association. I think the league shift is a misguided move driven solely by basketball. Travel costs for other sports will skyrocket and playing in a weaker baseball league will eventually hurt the Cougars. 2. A couple of offensive leaders to replace the departed Daniel Aldrich and Marty Gantt.

Erskine -- 1. A healthy Zach McCallister. 2. Continued solid offensive production from Chase Corn and Drew Willingham, who combined for 21 home runs a season ago.

Florence-Darlington Tech --  A better showing in the Region X Tournament than the 1-2 result in 2012 that took a little shine off a 43-10 regular season.

Francis Marion -- No erosion to what is projected to be a deep pitching staff.

Furman -- 1. Some good starting pitching. 2. A couple of more hitters. 3. enough success to get some well-heeled donors to kick in the $1.5 million needed for Phase 2 of the renovations to Latham Stadium.

Gray Military Academy -- A baseball coach and a place at the JuCo table.  In an era where the trend is to drop - not add - programs, I commend the Columbia school for wanting to provide an opportunity for more high school players to get a chance to extend their careers. If the school doesn't get into NJCAA Region X, it may make for a lot of games against a small number of jayvee teams in the area when it begins play in 2014.

Lander -- Replacements for departed top hitter A.J. Nunziato and top pitcher Chris Thomas.

Limestone -- 1. Someone to provide protection for Michael Hughey in the batting order so opposing teams can't pitch around him. 2. Someone to take charge as the No. 1 starting pitcher.

Morris -- Someone who will report the game scores. (OK. I operate this blog. I ought to get at least one wish, shouldn't I?)

Newberry -- 1. The Charles Atlas Workout Program. The Indians ... sorry, Wolves  ... hit just 11 home runs last season. Albert Baur, with two, is the only returnee who touched 'em all in 2012. 2. Someone to fill Josh McElwee's spot in the starting rotation. Starters Wesley Camp and Alex Roberts return, but there's room for one more. If Newberry can hang in until the late innings, closer Tyler Sturkie is back to shut the door.

North Greenville -- 1. A replacement for Markus Duckworth, who stolen 22 bases last season. 2. Someone to fill the void left by the departure of Jerome Provence. 3. Someone to approach the numbers of Derek Fulmer, who led the team in batting average, home runs and RBIs last season.

Presbyterian -- 1. A return to freshman form (.425 batting average) by Brad Zebedis, who hit .270 in an injury-plagued sophomore season. 2. Continued offensive production by Jay Lizanich and Billy Motroni to help offset the loss of a steady Kenny Bryant. 3. Continued improvement from returning starting pitchers Beau Dees, Bud Jeter and Chandler Knox. 4. Someone to step in as closer for Gabe Grammer.

South Carolina -- 1. A player with the quirky personality of a Michael Roth or Scott Wingo to keep the team as loose as it has been in recent seasons. 2. A good-enough debut season for coach Chad Holbrook so that Gamecocks fans won't be turn toward the Athletic Director's box and wonder former coach Ray Tanner would have done in a given situation. (You know they will anyway; second-guessing a coach - any coach, any school, any sport - is an American as apple pie.)

Southern Wesleyan -- A commitment from the school administration to get in an NCAA Division II conference and end the brutal travel schedule necessary as a member of the NAIA Southern States Athletic Conference.

Spartanburg Methodist -- More of the same. The Pioneers have ranked among the premier junior college programs in the country for decades.

The Citadel  -- The ability to win road games. The Bulldogs have had back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1965-66. A 4-18 road record last year was a contributing factor.

USC Aiken  -- Success at the get 'em on, move 'em over, get 'em in, offensive approach.

USC Beaufort  -- 1. Brian Lewallyn gets a chance to replicate the success he had as "interim" coach in 2012, when he led the Sand Sharks to the NAIA World Series. The job led to the "interim" tag being removed. 2. The Sand Sharks take advantage of having the other Sun Conference teams ranked in the NAIA preseason poll -- Embry-Riddle and St. Thomas -- at home.

USC Lancaster -- A lot of unproven players to step into important roles. Life in NJCAA Region X isn't for the faint of heart. The Lancers can't blink or they'll drop behind the pack.

USC Salkehatchie -- A chance to escape the cellar in a strong NJCAA Region X.

USC Sumter -- Continued consistency. The Fire Ants have developed into one of the most competitive programs in NJCAA Region X.

USC Upstate -- Enough starting pitching to be able to get into the late innings with a chance to use standout closer Chad Sobotka.

Voorhees -- Enough interest in the program to be able to field a team after not having one in 2012. Coach Robert Platts was a part of a well-grounded program at Claflin. Here's hoping he can establish the same at Denmark.

Winthrop --  1. Enough of "his" players for coach Tom Riginos to begin getting the Eagles back near the top of the Big South Conference programs. 2. Some offensive pop. A .231 team batting average, 15 home runs and 178 runs scored in 52 games puts a lot of pressure on a pitching staff.

Wofford -- Someone to fill the offensive void created by the departure of senior hitting star Mac Doyle.