Meyers makes impact on Gamecocks' pitching staff
OMAHA, Neb. -- It's easy to see why Jerry Meyers would want to come back to South Carolina. Where the team's plane touched down Thursday was a pure illustration of that.
Meyers was not itching to leave Old Dominion, where he was the head coach for six years, but he was listening when Ray Tanner was on the other end of the line last summer.
Meyers began his second stint as USC's pitching coach in August.
"I wasn't frustrated, and I wasn't wanting to leave," said Meyers, who was first in Columbia from 1997-2004. "I wouldn't have done it for any other place. I know I wouldn't have for any other place than this one, to be on coach Tanner's staff again.
"There's no question it was the right move for me, professionally and for where I want to be."
Meyers was referring to Columbia. But, really, there's nowhere he would rather be coaching than here in Omaha, Neb., where the Gamecocks (50-14) arrived Thursday.
Meyers was a part of Tanner's first three trips to the College World Series, in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Meyers is back, this time with the defending national champions.
"I wanted to be with a club and a program that has an opportunity to do that," Meyers said.
The numbers that stand out most for USC's staff are a 2.60 ERA and .229 opponents' batting average in 568 2/3 innings.
"Our pitching staff has been outstanding," Tanner said. "It's one of the main reasons we're continuing to play right now."
But it wasn't as if it were as simple for Meyers as picking up where Mark Calvi left off after the staff's sensational 2010.
Meyers had to break in new pitchers. He had to massage returning ones into increased roles. He had to hold it together for the better part of 70 games, through injuries, inconsistency and a grueling schedule.
"I think it's been understated the kind of job he's done this year," Tanner said.
As always, Tanner has a say. But he's let Meyers work, just as he did Calvi (now at South Alabama).
Closer Matt Price was back, as were key bullpen cogs Jose Mata and John Taylor, but Meyers was charged with the task of figuring out an all-new starting rotation, considering veteran starters Blake Cooper and Sam Dyson were gone.
Credit Meyers for believing junior left-hander Michael Roth, a left-handed specialist last season until his unexpected emergence in Omaha, could be the team's Friday night ace. Roth has exceeded all expectations, with a sparkling 13-3 record and 1.02 ERA in an All-America season. Meyers put him in the position to succeed.
Roth said Meyers has made him a better mechanical pitcher this year, and he has the numbers to back that up.
In addition to Roth, a fivesome of left-handers -- Nolan Belcher, Bryan Harper, Steven Neff, Tyler Webb and Adam Westmoreland -- was expected to compete for the other two weekend starting gigs.
And, yet, it was sophomore Colby Holmes and freshman Forrest Koumas who won out by April. Tanner said Meyers realized those pitchers could be weekend-type competitors long before he did. Meyers went with his gut, and his gut has produced 13 victories and sub-4.00 ERAs.
The bullpen was intact, mostly, but it's not as if Meyers just let the relievers go.
Mata was the glue last year, carrying games from the early to late innings in the absence of a third starter. This year, though, he has not pitched as much.
Instead, John Taylor, expected to be the 2010 closer, has been the go-to middle-inning arm. Taylor has appeared in a school-record 45 games (USC has played 64).
Even Price, who has 18 saves, has not been exempt from change. With the velocity on his fastball down a few ticks, Meyers has helped him become a better pitcher by better locating the heater and using his slider more effectively.
"He's done a tremendous job," Tanner said of Meyers. "It's almost like we didn't miss a beat, even though there was a transition.
"It's been smooth. They embraced him; he embraced them."
Meyers' South Carolina pitching staffs in College World Series
2002
57 wins, 25 saves, 4.26 ERA, 587 strikeouts, 296 walks, .265 opponents' average, five complete games
Best pitcher: Blake Taylor (6-1, 21 saves, 2.63 ERA)
2003
45 wins, 11 saves, 3.57 ERA, 478 strikeouts, 194 walks, .258 opponents' average, eight complete games
Best pitcher: David Marchbanks (15-3, 2.73 ERA)
2004
53 wins, 24 saves, 3.40 ERA, 660 strikeouts, 150 walks, .241 opponents' average, five complete games
Best pitcher: Matt Campbell (10-6, 3.02 ERA)
2010
50 wins, 21 saves, 2.60 ERA, 499 strikeouts, 206 walks, .229 opponents' average, one complete game
Best pitcher: Michael Roth (13-3, 1.02 ERA)
