How to watch South Carolina baseball play for a super regional spot
They upset the hosts. Now, the Gamecocks are looking to clinch their second NCAA tournament super regional berth in three seasons.
South Carolina baseball defeated regional host East Carolina late Saturday, 4-2, to guarantee itself a chance at the regional championship. What's not yet known is USC's next opponent and starting pitcher, and the start time of the next game is far from certain as well.
On Sunday, ECU and UNC-Wilmington will face off in the final of the loser's bracket in the regional. The loser will be eliminated, and the winner will advance to play South Carolina that evening. Should that team win Sunday's game, it would face South Carolina again on Monday.
After two weather delays and one extra-innings game Saturday, the NCAA announced the start of the UNC-Wilmington-ECU game would be pushed from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, and that game was delayed by lightning at 3:22 p.m. in the top of the fourth inning, with the tarp being rolled out at 3:42. As of 6:30 p.m., the game is still in a weather delay.
NCAA rules require a 55-minute gap in between games, and several of games in the regional so far have lasted well past three hours, meaning South Carolina's will either play deep into Sunday night or be postponed until Monday..
The forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms around Greenville to end at roughly 7 p.m. After that, the weather is expected to be calm.
The possibility of a late start and finish, however, is simply becoming part of Carolina's routine, coach Mark Kingston noted early Sunday after the ECU contest — at the SEC tournament, the Gamecocks twice finished after 1:30 a.m.
When the game does take place, though, it's still unclear who Kingston will put on the mound to start — he said early Sunday that he and pitching coach Skylar Meade were still deciding between freshmen Logan Chapman and Carmen Mlodzinski. Who they choose, Kingston said, will be based on who's been pitching better as of late, as well as which opponent wins the first game.
On one hand, Chapman has been a part of USC's weekend rotation and has a 3-3 record and 5.64 ERA, including lot of matchups against Friday night SEC starters. On the other, Mlodzinski usually started midweek games and has a 2-5 record and 4.76 ERA. He guided the Gamecocks to an SEC tourney win against Mizzou, the team's only win of the tournament.
Who: South Carolina (35-24, 17-13 SEC) vs. winner of East Carolina/UNC-Wilmington
When: TBA
Where: Clark-LeClair Stadium, Greenville, North Carolina
Watch: Streaming on WatchESPN.com
Listen: 107.5 FM in Columbia, South Carolina
This story was originally published June 3, 2018 at 2:55 AM with the headline "How to watch South Carolina baseball play for a super regional spot."