South Carolina baseball learns NCAA Tournament path, Columbia Regional schedule

There will be postseason baseball in Columbia, after all.

Though South Carolina (39-19) struggled in the last month of the season, the Gamecocks’ overall body of work earned them a regional hosting bid. And on Monday afternoon, the Gamecocks learned who they’ll be hosting this weekend as the No. 1 seed at Founders Park.

USC is the No. 15 national seed and will welcome N.C. State, Campbell and Central Connecticut State for a regional this weekend. USC and Central Connecticut State will play their first game at 7 p.m. Friday (ESPN+). Campbell and N.C. State play at 1 p.m. (ACC Network).

USC’s regional is paired in the full NCAA bracket with the Gainesville Regional, which No. 2 Florida is hosting. Texas Tech, UConn and Florida A&M are also in that regional.

Head coach Mark Kingston and his team watched the NCAA Tournament selection show from The Cockaboose Club in Williams-Brice Stadium — an event open to the public.

“We’re very excited just to be here in the first place,” Kingston said. “As everybody knows, we wondering if we would host. I thought the whole time we were very deserving. It’s the entirety of the season, and our guys absolutely deserved the right to host. And now we’ve got a draw with some really quality teams. So we’ll go back to work now.”

The Gamecocks are coming off a 1-2 run in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama, and Kingston has talked about the importance of getting players back to full health before their regional run begins.

The Gamecocks lost 13 of their final 18 games of the season, in part, because of a slew of injuries to the team’s starting infield and pitching staff. At one point, starting third baseman Talmadge LeCroy, shortstop Braylen Wimmer and second baseman Will McGillis all sat due to injuries. Both LeCroy and Wimmer have returned to the lineup. The pitching staff lost starters Noah Hall and Will Sanders as well as promising freshman Eli Jerzembeck. Only Sanders is expected to be available in the regional.

Despite USC’s late-season struggles, the Gamecocks built a strong NCAA tournament resume with a historic start to the season — the team’s best start since 1975. The Gamecocks soared to No. 3 in the national rankings after a home sweep of Florida pushed their season record to 34-6. USC lost the next four SEC series, but even after the slide, the Gamecocks sit at No. 8 in the RPI and No. 4 in strength of schedule — metrics that earned them a hosting bid.

Columbia Regional schedule

Friday, June 2

Game 1 – (2) Campbell (44-13) vs. (3) N.C. State (35-19), 1 p.m. (ACC Network)

Game 2 – (1) South Carolina (39-19) vs. (4) Central Connecticut State (36-12), 7 p.m. (ESPN+)

Saturday, June 3

Game 3 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, Noon (TV TBA)

Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6 p.m. (TV TBA)

Sunday, June 4

Game 5 – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, Noon (TV TBA)

Game 6 – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 6 p.m. (TV TBA)

Monday, June 5

Game 7 – If Necessary, TBD (TV TBA)

About the Columbia Regional teams

No. 1 South Carolina

39-19 record. ... No. 15 national seed. ... Two All-SEC first-teamers in Cole Messina (.311, 17 HRs, 63 RBIs) and freshman Ethan Petry (.376, 22 HRs, 72 RBIs) ... Gamecocks’ 34th appearance in NCAA Tournament, 19th time hosting a regional. ... USC ninth in country in total home runs (110).

No. 2 Campbell Camels

44-13 record. ... Big South Conference champions. ... Five straight trips to NCAAs, seventh overall, first time as a 2 seed ... Big South Player of the Year Lawson Harrill is batting .374 with 22 home runs, 68 RBIs. Pitcher Cade Kuehler is 8-0 with a 2.82 ERA. ... Campbell ranks fifth in the nation in total home runs (116); six players have at least 10 homers.

No. 3 N.C. State Wolfpack

35-19 record. ... At-large NCAA selection. ... 33rd postseason appearance, 11th since 2010. ... ACC All-Freshman team catcher Cannon Peebles leads Wolfpack with .348 batting average, 12 home runs, 48 RBIs

No. 4 Central Connecticut State Blue Devils

36-12 record. ... Northeast Conference champions. ... Fourth NCAA appearance since 2017. ... Dominic Niman (12-2, 2.76 ERA) was named conference pitcher of the year. ... Charlie Hickey in 24th year as CCSU coach.

NCAA Tournament regional host sites

Regional sites, listed with host institutions:

• Auburn, Alabama — Auburn

• Baton Rouge, Louisiana — LSU

• Charlottesville, Virginia — Virginia

• Clemson, South Carolina — Clemson

• Columbia, South Carolina — South Carolina

• Conway, South Carolina — Coastal Carolina

• Coral Gables, Florida — Miami

• Fayetteville, Arkansas — Arkansas

• Gainesville, Florida — Florida

• Lexington, Kentucky — Kentucky

• Nashville, Tennessee — Vanderbilt

• Stanford, California — Stanford

• Stillwater, Oklahoma — Oklahoma State

• Terre Haute, Indiana — Indiana State

• Tuscaloosa, Alabama — Alabama

• Winston-Salem, North Carolina — Wake Forest