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USC's tournament stay draws night-owl appeal
Gamecocks play two games past 2 a.m.; USC works way into host discussion
CommentsHOOVER, Ala. — South Carolina’s first two games at the SEC tournament might as well have been called “Late Night with Ray Tanner.”
But if you’re like a lot of people, it came on way too late to catch.
The USC baseball coach probably hadn’t planned on staying up quite so late either, but drawing the fifth seed in the SEC tournament and staying in the winner’s bracket for one night didn’t give him or his team much choice.
Wednesday’s win against Alabama began at 10:57 p.m. Eastern time and lasted three hours and 57 minutes to end at 2:54 a.m. Thursday back home in Columbia. Thursday’s loss to Vanderbilt began at 10:47 p.m. and lasted three hours and 22 minutes to end at 2:09 a.m. Friday. Add it all up, and it is easy to see why Tanner’s ratings took a hit among non-insomniacs.
But that’s the nature of being stuck with the fourth game of the day. Even with the first game starting at 10 a.m., it takes time to play three college baseball games. With the tourney’s first eight games lasting an average of three hours and 13 minutes this year — and the league taking 45 minutes between games to prepare for the next one — it is going to be a late night for Game 4.
Chuck Dunlap, who directs SEC media relations for baseball, acknowledges a team and its fans are inconvenienced by games that end in the early-morning hours. But he said that is simply a byproduct of the tournament format the league prefers.
The format issue has been discussed during the annual fall meetings with the conference’s baseball coaches, and Dunlap states the eight-team, double-elimination format remains the preferred one.
Dunlap says coaches do not want a single-elimination format or for the first game to start earlier than 10 a.m. They also like the Omaha-style format used in the College World Series.
Dunlap said coaches likely will continue discussing other options, such as the round-robin format used by the ACC, which features three games each day. But he doesn’t expect a change unless there is consensus among league officials and athletics directors.
In the meantime, you can keep eye out for Tanner along with Conan O’Brien, Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Kimmel.
Perfect hosts. Two college baseball analysts, Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com and Mark Etheridge of SEBaseball.com, sat in the Regions Park press box and confirmed their belief that USC has pushed itself into position to host an NCAA regional. Sites will be announced Sunday.
Both had the Gamecocks going to East Carolina as a No. 2 seed earlier in the week, but USC’s late-season run and ECU’s two losses in the Conference USA tournament may have altered the dynamic. If the SEC is going to get a fourth host team after LSU, Ole Miss and Florida, USC appears to be the best possibility heading into Friday’s game against LSU. A loss would leave the Gamecocks sitting on the host bubble. They both believe Clemson is a lock for a host site despite its struggles in the ACC tournament.
Master blast. Arkansas freshman third baseman Zack Cox hit a monstrous shot in Friday’s game against Florida.
The ninth homer of the season for the left-handed hitter was crushed off the scoreboard in right-center about 375 feet from home plate. More impressively, it shattered the ‘R” in the “REGIONS PARK” lettering at the top of the scoreboard, nearly 60 feet off the ground.
No measurement was announced, although Arkansas sports information director Phil Pierce smiled and said the Razorbacks would pay for scoreboard repairs if asked.
Giving 110 percent. A young fan fell over the front row of the right-field box seats and onto the field as he reached over the rail in an attempt to snag a foul ball during the Arkansas-Florida game. The ball bounced away, but the fan hopped up and climbed back over the rail into his seat.
Arkansas reliever Justin Wells came to the rescue, however, retrieving the baseball and giving it to the youngster. Wells received a big round of applause.
Short hops. With Thursday’s 5-4 win, Vanderbilt improved to 4-3 against USC in the SEC tournament. The Gamecocks lead the all-time series against the Commodores 43-18, with Tanner compiling a 31-13 record. Vandy coach Tim Corbin is 12-14 against the Gamecocks. ... USC is 8-8 all-time in the second round of the conference tournament — but 4-7 under Tanner. ... DeAngelo Mack’s 18-game hitting streak came to an end with a 0-for-5 game against Vanderbilt. But Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to nine games with two hits, including his 16th double of the season.
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