Charleston Celebrates Milestones For Heath, Ober

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C.—College of Charleston bounced back Saturday from an Opening Day loss, and defeated Nebraska, 13-5. It is a win that will live forever in the Cougars’ record book as Matt Heath’s first victory as a head coach. And, to top off an already special occasion, it also marked the return of ace Bailey Ober, who missed all of last season due to Tommy John surgery.

For Heath, a mix of emotions came with the victory.

“Honestly, I felt, after the game, a little bit of relief because you never know how long that would take,” Heath said. “And it’s humbling, too. In the same breath, I felt really good because I knew what this team was capable of and I thought they did an outstanding job, especially offensively.”

Heath was an assistant coach at Charleston for seven seasons over two separate stints, serving under both John Pawlowski and Monte Lee. He was promoted to head coach in June, after Lee left to become the coach at Clemson. Just 36 years old, Heath inherited a team coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and seemingly capable of extending that streak this spring.

One of the reasons the Cougars again look dangerous is Ober. The big righthander went 10-3, 1.52 in 2014 and earned Freshman All-American honors. But he had to watch from the dugout last season, sidelined by Tommy John surgery.

“Knowing that you could be out there but something’s holding you back is really hard,” Ober said. “And especially watching last year in the regional when we lost.”

Ober’s return to the mound Saturday was somewhat ahead of schedule. The one-year anniversary of his surgery isn’t for another week, but he had a relatively easy rehab process and was ready to go on opening weekend.

Ober sat 86-88 mph with his fastball early in his outing, touching 89 mph. He also effectively mixed in his curveball and changeup, and scattered seven hits and four walks. He struck out three batters and allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings. He threw 80 pitches.

Heath said he was pleased with Ober’s performance, and expects him to continue to get better as he gets further removed from surgery.

“The fact that I have a guy that pitched like he did on Saturday not even a full year from Tommy John, it shows what an amazing player he is,” Heath said. “He’s phenomenal. I think he’s a future big leaguer.”

Ober got plenty of support from the Cougars’ offense, which chased Cornhuskers starter Garett King in the second and scored seven runs in the first two innings. They kept hitting throughout the game, pounding out 12 hits and drawing seven walks.

Freshman second baseman Dupree Hart was a sparkplug at the top of the lineup and scored a run in each of the first three innings. Junior catcher Erven Roper homered and junior first baseman Bradley Jones drove in four runs.

“We’ve seen our offense day in and day out and we knew this was coming,” Ober said. “It was really exciting to see all these new guys come together as a unit and put on a show like today.”

With the offense’s performance, Ober’s start and a solid showing from the bullpen (juco transfer righthander Michael Carpin picked up the win and senior lefthander Eric Bauer threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings for the save), it was a total team effort for Heath’s first victory.

Ober said he was happy he was able to be a part of the special win because of how influential Heath has been in his career.

“That’s special to me because he’s been one of those guys that’s worked with me since Day One,” Ober said. “He’s one of the reasons how I’ve gotten here and the success I had freshman year and the success that I’m going to continue to have throughout my playing time here at College of Charleston.

“All of these guys look up to him and we fully believe in what he’s trying to do with us. So to get that first one out of the way is big time for us.”

While this is Heath’s first time as a head coach, he has had plenty of preparation for the job. He played for Skip Bertman and Andy Lopez, both Coach of the Year winners, and was on staff under the Cougars’ two most successful coaches.

Heath said he and Lee have remained close over the last eight months, continuing to share ideas and talk about coaching.

“Me and Monte pick each other’s brain every week,” Heath said. “We’re calling each other and chatting every week.”

Lee also won his first game at Clemson on Saturday, but still took to Twitter to congratulate his former assistant on his own milestone.