COLUMBIA — In the ninth inning of a tied NCAA Tournament game and with his team’s season at stake, South Carolina head coach Chad Holbrook approached Hunter Taylor in the on-deck circle and delivered a message.
“I’m going to bunt Madison,” Holbrook said, referring to USC’s Madison Stokes, at the plate with Dom Thompson-Williams on first, “and you’re going to get the game-winning hit.”
There certainly seemed more usual suspects than Taylor, a catcher starting his fourth game all season, and that because John Jones had missed USC’s pre-game meal.