Gamecocks baseball announces neutral site games with a pair of top national programs

South Carolina baseball will play a pair of midweek games at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte in 2019, the team announced Tuesday night. The Gamecocks will face North Carolina State on April 2 and North Carolina on April 16, with first pitch for both games at 7 p.m.



The Gamecocks will be the home team in the matchup with the Wolfpack, while the Tar Heels will be the home team in the second matchup.



This will be the fourth consecutive season the Gamecocks and Tar Heels will meet at BB&T Ballpark. North Carolina has won the previous three contests by a combined score of 36-8.

This will the first meeting between South Carolina and NC State in Charlotte and just the third game between the programs overall. The two teams faced off in a fall scrimmage at Founders Park last month, and last played a competitive game in the 2008 NCAA tournament regional in Raleigh. The Wolfpack are coached by a former assistant of Ray Tanner, Elliott Avent.

Both UNC and NC State were national seeds in last year’s NCAA tournament. The Wolfpack advanced to the regional final but was upset by Auburn. The Tar Heels advanced to the College World Series before bowing out after three games.

The announcement of the two games was part of a larger slate of nine games unveiled by the Charlotte Knights, who play at BB&T Ballpark, in their Collegiate Baseball Series. Tickets for all the games will go on sale at a later date.



The full 2019 South Carolina baseball schedule will be announced Wednesday afternoon

This story was originally published October 23, 2018 at 7:54 PM.