What's at stake for South Carolina in the SEC baseball tournament
South Carolina baseball coach Mark Kingston seemed to sum up what’s most important for as his team heads into the SEC tournament.
The baseball conference tournament grind will always be a tricky balance. Everyone wants to win, but playing nearly every day for six days can tax a pitching staff looking forward to the NCAA Tournament the next weekend.
USC will be walking that line when it starts things up in Hoover, Ala., at 9 p.m. on Tuesday against Missouri. But Monday morning, Kingston put things in perspective.
“At the end of the day, this program is about playing really well in the NCAA Tournament,” Kingston said. “So we want to make sure we’re in really good position to do that.”
If the Gamecocks (32-22, 17-13 SEC) lose to the No. 12-seeded Tigers, the last team in the field, they’ll head home immediately. If they win, they’ll enter a double-elimination bracket that eventually produces a final four.
South Carolina moved up in both the D1 and Baseball America polls on Monday, to No. 23 and No. 22 respectively.
If USC wins Tuesday, it gets Arkansas, and in that, there’s some opportunity.
“You want to play well,” Kingston said. “You want to play good for seedings, but at the end of the day, I think we’ve done enough to know that we’re in the NCAA Tournament from just about every metric you can look at.”
The Gamecocks’ chances to help their resume rest in the fact the SEC is loaded with top RPI teams. Arkansas is No. 4. A win there and USC most likely gets No. 1 Florirda, a loss means one of No. 26 Ole Miss, No. 44 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss.
In the latest NCAA Tournament projections from D1Baseball, USC was sent to an N.C. State regional with an opening opponent of Illinois.
How to watch
When: Approximately 9 p.m. Tuesday
Who: South Carolina (32-22, 17-13 SEC) vs. Missouri (34-21, 12-18 SEC)
Where: Hoover Met Stadium, Hoover, Ala.
Watch: SEC Network
Listen: 107.5 FM
Probable pitchers (Game 1): South Carolina — RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (2-5, 4.93 ERA); Missouri — LHP T.J. Sikkema (3-5, 3.41 ERA)
Full Schedule:
*All times eastern and all games televised on SEC Network unless otherwise noted
TUESDAY, MAY 22 (Single elimination)
Game 1: No. 6 Vanderbilt vs. No. 11 Texas A&M, 10:30 a.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Auburn vs. No. 10 Kentucky, to follow
Game 3: No. 8 LSU vs. No. 9 MSU, 5:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 5 South Carolina vs. No. 12 Missouri, to follow
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23 (Double elimination)
Game 5: No. 3 Georgia vs. Game 1 winner, 10:30 a.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Ole Miss vs. Game 2 winner, to follow
Game 7: No. 1 Florida vs. Game 3 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Game 8: No. 4 Arkansas vs. Game 4 winner, to follow
THURSDAY, MAY 24 (Double elimination)
Game 9: Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser, 10:30 a.m.
Game 10: Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, to follow
Game 11: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Game 12: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, to follow
FRIDAY, MAY 25 (Double elimination)
Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 loser, 4 p.m.
Game 14: Game 10 winner vs. Game 12 loser, to follow
SATURDAY, MAY 26 (Single elimination)
Game 15: Game 13 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 16: Game 14 winner vs. Game 12 winner, to follow
SUNDAY, MAY 27 (Championship)
Game 17: Game 15 winner vs. Game 16 winner, 3 p.m. (ESPN2)
This story was originally published May 21, 2018 at 5:43 PM with the headline "What's at stake for South Carolina in the SEC baseball tournament."