CONWAY, SC: On a sun splashed Thursday along the Grand Strand, Coastal Carolina baseball stepped onto the field at Springs Brooks Stadium for a morning workout in preparation for the NCAA tournament. The Chanticleers (39-19), who are the #1 seed in the Conway Regional and the #10 national seed, will face 4th seeded Rider (35-19) at 7pm on Friday. The first game of the regional will pit #2 Duke (38-17) against #3 UNCW (34-21) at 1pm. It’s Coastal’s fifth time hosting an NCAA regional and the 19th time the Chanticleers have made the NCAA tournament.
After practice, CCU head coach Gary Gilmore met with the media to preview the four-team regional and Coastal’s matchup with the Broncs. However, there was a lingering piece of business that Gilmore had to address before getting down to the task at hand.
“My retirement piece, this is not a spur-of-the moment situation,” the veteran head coach stated in responding to his announcement on SportsTalk earlier this week. “It’s been in the works for a good while. It has nothing to do with my health. Cancer, at least as of today, is completely stable. It is not a health decision; it is just a life decision.”
Gilly, as he is affectionately known around Conway, also detailed his pitching plans for the weekend while challenging his fan base to pack the stadium and create an atmosphere similar to the one they faced in Greenville, NC, a season ago.
