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Gainesville Super Regional: How to watch, key storylines for South Carolina baseball

Jeff Blake/Jeff Blake Photo

A rejuvenated South Carolina baseball team will play the No. 2 national seed Florida Gators this weekend — with a trip to Omaha on the line.

The NCAA Tournament’s Gainesville Super Regional begins 6 p.m. Friday, with the Gamecocks and Gators playing a three-game series to decide which team will advance to the College World Series.

Mark Kingston’s USC team (42-19) is coming in hot after sweeping its competition in the Columbia Regional. Florida (48-15), meanwhile, played the full five games last weekend, coming through the loser’s bracket and defeating Texas Tech twice to advance.

Here are key storylines for the Gamecocks heading into the series.

A heavyweight SEC rematch

Gamecocks fans should all remember the last time USC played Florida.

The then-No. 3 Gators traveled to Columbia April 20-22, and USC rocketed up the national ranking after sweeping thhat series. The Gamecocks fired on all cylinders that weekend, pushing their record up to 34-6 and looking like one of the best teams in the country.

The teams then veered in different directions, however, with the Gamecocks dropping their next four series and the Gators ending the regular season with series wins over Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

Though the series sweep should give USC some level of confidence, multiple players said Wednesday that they’re treating the weekend like a brand new series — and they’re certainly not taking the Gators lightly. Florida features three starting pitchers who can touch the mid-90s or higher on the radar gun, and they have a two-way star in Jac Caglianone, whom Kingston compared to MLB great Shohei Ohtani earlier in the season.

“We’re in June now; anything can happen,” shortstop Braylen Wimmer said. “This is postseason baseball. It’s gonna be a dogfight. We know that, so we’ll be ready.

“They’re really good. Their starting three pitchers are the best in the country. And they got a lineup that’s gonna hit the ball over the yard, and they’re versatile. So they can do it all.”

‘Personal’ matchup for Will Sanders

USC junior right-hander Will Sanders opened the season as the team’s ace, but he struggled through the SEC portion of the season before a lower-body injury sidelined him for four weeks.

Sanders said doctors had told him it was unlikely he would pitch again this season, and he’s still wearing a walking boot on his foot when he isn’t throwing. But Sanders had a triumphant return to the mound in the Columbia Regional, closing out the title game with three scoreless innings.

Sanders could pitch in any number of roles this weekend, with Kingston not ruling out a start. USC would be wise to deploy Sanders given his success against the Gators in the past. Sanders struck out 10 and allowed just two earned runs in six innings against the Gators on April 20, and he allowed just one run in seven innings against Florida in the SEC Tournament last year — the game that ended USC’s season.

Sanders said he’s used that season-ending loss to the Gators last year as motivation. There’s an added chip on his shoulder, too.

“My high school coach caught at Florida, and Florida never offered me out of high school,” Sanders said. “So it’s always been kind of a personal urge to beat them every single time we play them.”

Ethan Petry’s homecoming

South Carolina right fielder Ethan Petry has won — and will likely continue to win — a plethora of awards for his standout freshman season.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound slugger leads the Gamecocks in average (.374), slugging (.738), home runs (23) and RBIs (75), and this weekend will present an opportunity for the Land O’Lakes, Florida native to play in front of a group of about 15 to 20 friends and family.

After struggling in the fall and expecting to be a role player for the Gamecocks, Petry worked with coaches to tweak his approach and blew up this spring. Though he plays beyond his years, the freshman admitted to some nerves heading into the super regional.

I’m really excited to go down there,” Petry said. “But I’m nervous because I want to keep winning. In fact, the thought of losing kind of vacates your brain.”

Gainesville Super Regional schedule

Friday

Game 1: No. 15 South Carolina (42-19) vs. No. 2 Florida (48-15), 6 p.m. (ESPN2)

Saturday

Game 2: No. 15 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Florida, 3 p.m. (ESPN2)

Sunday

Game 3: No. 15 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Florida, if necessary (Game time and channel TBA)

The rest of the NCAA Baseball Tournament schedule

— Virginia vs. Duke, at Charlottesville —

  • noon Friday (ESPN2)

  • noon Saturday (ESPN2)

  • TBD Sunday/if necessary (TV TBD)

— Oregon vs. Oral Roberts, at Eugene —

  • 8 p.m. Friday (ESPNU)

  • 9 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU)

  • TBD Sunday/if necessary (TV TBD)

— TCU vs. Indiana State, at Fort Worth —

  • 5 p.m. Friday (ESPNU)

  • 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU)

  • TBD Sunday/if necessary (TV TBD)

— Wake Forest vs. Alabama, at Winston-Salem —

  • noon Saturday (ESPN)

  • TBD Sunday (TV TBD)

  • TBD Monday/if necessary (TV TBD)

— Stanford vs. Texas, at Stanford —

  • 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2)

  • TBD Sunday (TV TBD)

  • TBD Monday/if necessary (TV TBD)

— LSU vs. Kentucky, at Baton Rouge —

  • 3 p.m. Saturday (ESPN)

  • TBD Sunday (TV TBD)

  • TBD Monday/if necessary (TV TBD)

— Southern Miss vs. Tennessee, at Hattiesburg —

  • 3 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU)

  • TBD Sunday (TV TBD)

  • TBD Monday/if necessary (TV TBD)