Throughout Carolina’s time in Omaha, each day’s post will be part of the Road to a Repeat series, as the Gamecocks look to win back-to-back national championships.
Uh oh. First baseman Christian Walker is injured and questionable for the final series of the CWS.
Photo courtesy of the USC Athl. Dept.
According to Coach Tanner, Walker tweaked his wrist during his final at-bat in the UVA game Friday night. According to numerous reports on twitter, Walker was in immense pain at Carolina’s practice today, and could only swing the bat once before having to stop. His left wrist is in a brace and he was apparently visibly upset when talking to trainers.
In the likely event that Walker cannot go tomorrow night, the Gamecocks have two options at first – catcher Robert Beary and pitcher Michael Roth. If Beary plays first, Brady Thomas will catch.
This team has been plagued by the injury bug all season, so a problem like this isn’t exactly new to them. This is a horribly unfortunate time for an injury to a key player, though. The team will certainly have to employ their “battle” mantra if they want to come out on top, but this shouldn’t be a problem, as they don’t back down from challenges and tough situations.
Walker has started every game this season, and leads the Cocks in batting average, home runs, and RBIs. Tanner had this to say to the media following today’s practice:
“The fact we’ve had some adversity and been able to survive, and if Christian’s not able to play, we’ll feel bad for him. He’s real upset right now. He was hoping that he would feel a little bit better today when he jumped in the cage and it just wasn’t there for him.”
Not exactly encouraging, and it’ll certainly be a blow to the team, but don’t freak out just yet, Gamecocks fans. Remember, this team makes magic happen, and you know Bayler’s been on our side before (see: 2010 CWS games, Friday’s game against UVA). If these guys believe they can win, no matter who’s out there (and I think they do), then there’s no reason to panic.
And if you don’t believe me, believe Assistant Coach Holbrook, who just tweeted this:
