Table Set for Gamecocks Regional in Columbia

And coming to dinner will be the Hokies, the Bulldogs and the Bison.

Since the Gamecocks Baseball team learned yesterday that they would be a host venue for the NCAA 2010 Baseball Regionals, all eyes have been on who will be joining them in Columbia, SC.  Well, now it is official and the speculation can end as Carolina (43-15) is the No. 1 seed and will face the No. 4 seed Bucknell (25-33). The No. 2 seed will be the Hokies of Virginia Tech (38-20) will face No. 3 seed The Citadel (42-20).

The Gamecocks (if they win their regional and advance) will have to travel to Myrtle Beach to face Coastal Carolina (if they win).  The Chanticleers will host College of Charleston, North Carolina State, and Stony Brook.  If CCU does not advance then the Super Regional could be in Columbia.

Here is a quick glance of the teams coming to Columbia, South Carolina June 4th – June 7th…..

VT is coming in a bit hot after having a nice showing in the ACC tourney (won 2 of 3).  The Hokies have not won an NCAA tournament game since 1999 when they beat Siena in an elimination game in the Winston-Salem regional.  This will be the Hokies’ ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and their first as an at-large bid since 1977. Interestingly, the Hokies have matched up with both The Citadel and South Carolina in previous NCAA Tournaments. Tech was eliminated by the Bulldogs in 1994 in the Clemson, S.C., regional. The Hokies lost to the Gamecocks in the first game of the 1976 regional that took place in Columbia. Tech is 5-16 all-time in NCAA Tournament games.

Citadel, also playing hot right now, has won 12 games in a row and the SoCon title.  The Bulldogs and Gamecocks met twice this season with SC winning 10-1 at Carolina Stadium on March 30 and at Joe Riley Park 10-4 on April 14.  Carolina is 23-7 all-time against The Citadel under Tanner.

The Bison from Bucknell won their fifth Patriot League Championship this year but should not make too much noise in this regional but don’t overlook them.  Bucknell is making its fifth NCAA appearance, all since 1996. The Bison last qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and upset No. 4 national seed Florida State in their first game. Bucknell is 1-8 all-time in NCAA play.  Bucknell and South Carolina have never met on the baseball diamond. The Bison have also never played The Citadel. They are 0-3 all-time against Virginia Tech.  Bucknell earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament by winning the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the four-team field. The Bison defeated both No. 1 seed Army and No. 3 seed Holy Cross on the road in best-of-three series to claim their record-tying fifth Patriot League crown.

I like how the cards fell for the Gamecocks with the teams involved in this regional and being paired with the CCU regional.  Disappointed with not getting the national seed but could be worse.  I see SC winning this regional as long as the offense comes to the show.

Interesting Notes on USC Baseball in the post-season —

• The last time the Gamecocks did not advance out of a home Regional was 1976.
• This is Carolina’s 26th overall appearance in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.
• South Carolina has reached eight College World Series as well as seven NCAA Super Regionals.
• South Carolina’s 11 consecutive trips to the NCAA Baseball Tournament (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) is the longest current streak of the 12 SEC schools.
• This marks the 12th time in school history that the Gamecocks will host an NCAA Regional in baseball.
• Since the move to the Regional-Super Regional format, Carolina has hosted an NCAA Regional six times (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010).

Full NCAA Tournament bracket