South Carolina Baseball: What to know and how to watch vs. Central Connecticut State
By Kevin Miller
The South Carolina baseball team was controversially chosen as a regional host. The committee, though, seemed convinced the Gamecocks belonged as a top-16 host site; in fact, Mark Kingston’s group was selected as the 15th-overall seed, one slot ahead of Alabama, a team that more pundits believed would host.
The Gamecocks’ overall resume was probably worthy of a top-16 seed, but Carolina’s horrible finish to the year soured a previously top-3 ranking. The Gamecocks lost 11 of their final 15 games in the regular season and 13 of their final 18 overall after beginning the year on the best pace in college baseball.
South Carolina baseball fans are hoping that their team’s week off since being eliminated in the SEC Tournament will provide the Gamecocks a reset. The first test of that optimistic theory will be on Friday night when the 4-seeded Central Connecticut State Blue Devils step up against the 1-seeded home team in the second game of the Columbia regional.
Some good news came out this week for the Gamecocks in the lead-up to the regional. Injured catcher Cole Messina (concussion) and starting pitcher Will Sanders (undisclosed lower body issue) will be available to play. Messina is set to take over behind the plate, and Sanders likely will contribute out of the bullpen unless the weekend gets wild.
Second baseman Will McGillis has a chance to play in the regional, as well, but Mark Kingston played coy with Collyn Taylor of GamecockCentral when asked if other injured players might return for the Columbia regional or at any other point of the NCAA Baseball Tournament.
Messina will catch James Hicks in the opening game. Hicks has primarily been a reliever this season but had a tremendous start in the SEC Tournament against Georgia, giving up zero runs through 6 2/3 innings of work. CCSU will be starting their second-best starting pitcher, lefty Jake Neuman, who is solid. Top Blue Devil arm Dominic Niman won’t be available until at least Saturday.
The Gamecocks will hope to take advantage of avoiding CCSU’s best starter and break out of their extended offensive slump. Over the final three weeks of the season, South Carolina was shutout twice (vs. Tennessee at home, vs. Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament) and had three more games in which they were held to just one run. That level of production won’t cut it this postseason.
There is good reason for optimism in game 1 for South Carolina baseball fans. Central Connecticut State has not played a tough schedule in 2023. Their only games against good opponents (two games against LSU in an early-season tournament and a matchup with UConn) were abject disasters for the Blue Devils as they lost the three contests by a combined score of 49-8.
If the USC bats can wake up, and Carolina pitching can deliver a solid outing, the Gamecocks will beat the talent-deficient Blue Devils. NC State and Campbell are both more complete teams than CCSU, and South Carolina baseball must win on Friday night in order to avoid playing them in the dreaded losers’ bracket.
The winner of USC and CCSU will take on the winner of NC State and Campbell on Saturday. The losers from each game will match up in the losers’ bracket with a difficult road ahead for advancement to the super regional.
The NC State Wolfpack and Campbell Camels will play at 2:00 at Founders Park on the ACCNetwork, and if all goes as scheduled, the Gamecocks and Blue Devils will have their first pitch at 7:00 on ESPN+. The game is expected to be sold out as standing-room-only tickets are all that are still available.