South Carolina baseball already in postseason mode

The NCAA Tournament does not begin until June, but with eight regular season games remaining South Carolina is already in postseason mode.

The Gamecocks enter Wednesday’s game against Liberty with a No. 28 RPI and the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country. But USC is 11-13 in the SEC and on the bubble as far as the NCAA Tournament.

Every game down the stretch is critical.

“We’ve got eight left and they’re all important. The magnitude is great,” Carolina coach Chad Holbrook said. “The sense of urgency has to be there every single game, whether it’s a midweek game or a weekend game.”

After facing Liberty on Wednesday USC returns to SEC play this weekend, traveling to Missouri for a three-game series.

The Gamecocks then host USC Upstate in a midweek game next week before hosting Georgia in the final series of the regular season.

South Carolina is aware that it has to start piling up wins in the final week and a half of the season.

“We’re treating it like we’re already in the postseason,” Holbrook said. “We’re already here, and we’re playing each weekend like we’ve got to win. That’s how it is.”

USC has not won an SEC series since March, but Holbrook is encouraged by the way his team has played as of late.

The Gamecocks lost two of three games against LSU last weekend but were in position to win and clinch the series on Sunday before blowing a lead in the eighth and ninth innings.

“I like the way we’re playing. Sometimes baseball can be a tough game and things cannot go your way,” Holbrook said. “ But as far as performance I was darn proud of our team and how they performed this past weekend. Maybe we’re getting into a good place and getting into a good rhythm and maybe we can create some momentum this week at home before we go on the road Friday.”

This story was originally published May 10, 2017 at 3:05 PM with the headline "South Carolina baseball already in postseason mode."