Ball
Matt Lane is host of The Weekend Rundown which airs from 10 a.m.-noon Saturdays on News-TalkSports 1630 AM. He can be reached at mattlane28@gmail.com.
Matt Lane
Price Sets Mark, Achieves It Best of luck to Will Price, formerly of the Greenbrier Wolfpack, now a member of the Colorado Rockies organization. Will was selected in the 45th round by the Rockies and now begins his professional career after a stellar senior season. The story of his rise to draftee is uplifting and full of old-fashioned hard work and determination. We’ve all fallen victim to setting benchmarks in our lives for outcomes we want, but don’t want to work for to obtain. It’s not that we give up; we just half-heartedly pursue them until they become unimportant to us. Price decided to skip the self-sabotage, set his expectations as high as he could and get to work. And the work he put in during last summer translated well into production for the Wolfpack this past year, as he put up a 59 RBI, which is something that’s unheard of here locally on the high school level. He also added 11 home runs to go with his .511 batting average, his own heightened expectations driving his forceful bat. “I set my goals pretty high this year and got in the weight room every day. I always thought I could have a year like this, it just happened to be my senior year,” says Price. His dream was to get drafted, so he made sure he left no stone unturned in achieving it. Simple as that.
Gamecocks Make Light Work of Huskies
South Carolina is headed back to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series after sweeping the Connecticut Huskies in Super Regional play this past weekend. This time they arrive as the defending national champions. They are a talented and scrappy bunch led by junior pitcher Michael Roth and senior infielders Adrian Morales and Scott Wingo. Watch and see if the Gamecocks have what it takes as they battle the best in the nation in the brand new picturesque $131 million TD Ameritrade Park. Also, I have a few copies of “Gamecock Glory,” Travis Haney’s heartening account of the 2010 championship season left to give away. Send an email for your free copy to mattlane28@gmail.com. The State In Columbia, S.C., said “‘Gamecock Glory,’ the recount of a brilliant season, has a narrative that is authoritative, amusing and, most important, compelling.”
College World Series Schedule June 18 North Carolina vs. Vanderbilt, 2 p.m. on ESPN or espn3.com. Texas vs. Florida, 7 p.m., on ESPN or espn3.com. June 19 California vs. Virginia, 2 p.m., on ESPN or espn3.com. Texas A&M vs. South Carolina, 7 p.m., on ESPN2 or espn3.com. Double elimination tournament leading to a best-of-three championship series. Games continue through June 28-29. Follow the action at cwsomaha.com. METRO SPIRIT 6.16.11 51