NCAA COLUMBIA SUPER REGIONAL
Saturday-Monday
Carolina Stadium
Saturday
Oklahoma at South Carolina*, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
Sunday
*Oklahoma at South Carolina, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Monday
Oklahoma at South Carolina (if necessary), 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
*Home team. Game 3's home team will be decided by coin flip
Dante Rosenberg was never so glad to be sore. Being sore means that he had been playing - a lot.
"Yeah, it wasn't too bad, but it was good to get out there," South Carolina's backup catcher said on Wednesday. "I had a lot of fun. I'm just glad we could get the win as a team and move on to the Supers."
A win that in large part, was due to him.
Pressed into emergency service after starter Grayson Greiner tore his left meniscus in the practice days leading up to the start of the NCAA Columbia Regional, Rosenberg was handed his glove and mask and asked to be Greiner. The two catchers had platooned the position early in the season but Greiner had played almost every inning from mid-season on, coach Ray Tanner loving the freshman's ability to catch every frame, throw out base-stealers and hit the ball.
It wasn't a knock of Rosenberg at all. He was brought in before the 2011 season to be the everyday catcher, but after starting the first two games, a stress fracture in his back acted up and he didn't play again. The back healed, but Greiner was signed and came to school, giving USC a phenom that Tanner labeled as good as former all-star backstop Landon Powell.
Rosenberg was good at a lot of things, but Greiner was better at all of them. But when Greiner's knee gave out, two days before USC was due to play its first game of the postseason, Rosenberg was given his chance.
"I didn't know what happened," Rosenberg said. "I didn't think much of it. I just thought he maybe tweaked his knee a little bit. Brainard (Cooper, the team trainer) had come up to me and said, 'Be ready for this weekend.' So I just got my mind right and I was ready to go."
Rosenberg has always been good defensively, and the pitchers began to notice that if they perhaps weren't on top of their games - i.e., control-wise - Rosenberg could give them a lower target. Being closer to the ground than the sky-scraping Greiner, Rosenberg could get after a pitch in the dirt quicker, and perhaps avoid any wild-pitch situations.
Then he played against Manhattan, and nearly caught a no-hitter.
"He was everything that we needed behind the plate tonight," starter Colby Holmes said.
Rosenberg caught Holmes as if he'd been doing it his whole life - which due to bullpens the last two years, he kind of had - and kept it up throughout the regional. He saved several dirt balls and was at least in consideration for the Most Outstanding Player award - if Rosenberg would have gotten a few hits, he perhaps could have won it.
But the Gamecocks won the regional and Rosenberg should be back behind the plate this weekend, as Oklahoma visits Columbia for the best-of-three Super Regional, which will determine a College World Series berth. With his teammates hash-tagging "InDanteWeTrust" on their Twitter remarks these days, he's earned the trust and the confidence to offer a repeat of his regional showing.
"Going into every game, whether I'm starting or not, I'm always preparing myself to play," Rosenberg said. "You've always got to be ready to play, so it's no different going into this weekend. I'm ready to play every day."
He should. Greiner could be added to the active roster this weekend, but if he is and plays, it will most likely only be to hit. Trying to squat on a recently repaired knee would not be good.
That leaves it up to Rosenberg, whose only backup is infielder Erik Payne, a third baseman who took some innings at backup catcher in spring practice but has mostly played second base this year. No biggie - he was brought in to catch, he'll catch.
"(The upperclassmen) just gave me some encouragement," Rosenberg said. "They knew I would be all right out there. I went out there and did my thing and it was fun.
"You know, honestly, I thought I was going to play a bit more, but it's just not how things worked out. I'm glad to be in there now. Hopefully Grayson will get healthy soon and we'll hopefully make a run here."
link: http://southcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1372900
Saturday-Monday
Carolina Stadium
Saturday
Oklahoma at South Carolina*, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
Sunday
*Oklahoma at South Carolina, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Monday
Oklahoma at South Carolina (if necessary), 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
*Home team. Game 3's home team will be decided by coin flip
Dante Rosenberg was never so glad to be sore. Being sore means that he had been playing - a lot.
"Yeah, it wasn't too bad, but it was good to get out there," South Carolina's backup catcher said on Wednesday. "I had a lot of fun. I'm just glad we could get the win as a team and move on to the Supers."
A win that in large part, was due to him.
Pressed into emergency service after starter Grayson Greiner tore his left meniscus in the practice days leading up to the start of the NCAA Columbia Regional, Rosenberg was handed his glove and mask and asked to be Greiner. The two catchers had platooned the position early in the season but Greiner had played almost every inning from mid-season on, coach Ray Tanner loving the freshman's ability to catch every frame, throw out base-stealers and hit the ball.
It wasn't a knock of Rosenberg at all. He was brought in before the 2011 season to be the everyday catcher, but after starting the first two games, a stress fracture in his back acted up and he didn't play again. The back healed, but Greiner was signed and came to school, giving USC a phenom that Tanner labeled as good as former all-star backstop Landon Powell.
Rosenberg was good at a lot of things, but Greiner was better at all of them. But when Greiner's knee gave out, two days before USC was due to play its first game of the postseason, Rosenberg was given his chance.
"I didn't know what happened," Rosenberg said. "I didn't think much of it. I just thought he maybe tweaked his knee a little bit. Brainard (Cooper, the team trainer) had come up to me and said, 'Be ready for this weekend.' So I just got my mind right and I was ready to go."
Rosenberg has always been good defensively, and the pitchers began to notice that if they perhaps weren't on top of their games - i.e., control-wise - Rosenberg could give them a lower target. Being closer to the ground than the sky-scraping Greiner, Rosenberg could get after a pitch in the dirt quicker, and perhaps avoid any wild-pitch situations.
Then he played against Manhattan, and nearly caught a no-hitter.
"He was everything that we needed behind the plate tonight," starter Colby Holmes said.
Rosenberg caught Holmes as if he'd been doing it his whole life - which due to bullpens the last two years, he kind of had - and kept it up throughout the regional. He saved several dirt balls and was at least in consideration for the Most Outstanding Player award - if Rosenberg would have gotten a few hits, he perhaps could have won it.
But the Gamecocks won the regional and Rosenberg should be back behind the plate this weekend, as Oklahoma visits Columbia for the best-of-three Super Regional, which will determine a College World Series berth. With his teammates hash-tagging "InDanteWeTrust" on their Twitter remarks these days, he's earned the trust and the confidence to offer a repeat of his regional showing.
"Going into every game, whether I'm starting or not, I'm always preparing myself to play," Rosenberg said. "You've always got to be ready to play, so it's no different going into this weekend. I'm ready to play every day."
He should. Greiner could be added to the active roster this weekend, but if he is and plays, it will most likely only be to hit. Trying to squat on a recently repaired knee would not be good.
That leaves it up to Rosenberg, whose only backup is infielder Erik Payne, a third baseman who took some innings at backup catcher in spring practice but has mostly played second base this year. No biggie - he was brought in to catch, he'll catch.
"(The upperclassmen) just gave me some encouragement," Rosenberg said. "They knew I would be all right out there. I went out there and did my thing and it was fun.
"You know, honestly, I thought I was going to play a bit more, but it's just not how things worked out. I'm glad to be in there now. Hopefully Grayson will get healthy soon and we'll hopefully make a run here."
link: http://southcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1372900
