COLUMBIA — Monday began the business of saying goodbye. Returning players heading to summer ball received advice on where they needed to improve. Players heading into the professional ranks received hugs and thanks for their contributions to the South Carolina baseball program.
“One of the worst days of the year,” Gamecocks head coach Chad Holbrook called it.
And yet, despite the sadness over the conclusion of a season that finished two games short of the College World Series, there was a distinct feeling that Monday represented not an end, but a beginning. USC returned to the NCAAs after a one-year hiatus, reached the super regionals, and will have the majority of its roster back for next season.