The College World Series is still being held despite South Carolina's absence.  The Gamecocks came up a game short and are watching from home.  It's the worst finish for the Garnet and Black since 2009, but it was hardly a bad finish.

Back to back national championships confirmed the Gamecocks position as one of elite national powerhouses in college baseball.  It also a new high water mark for the program, and raised the question, "how do we now measure success?"

It is being reported that "Howard's Rock" at Clemson University has been vandalized. This is the traditional rock that is rubbed by the team before they run down the field to play football inside the stadium.

Here is a pic:

Here is another pic:

Let's say this adds fuel to the fire even if a USC fan had nothing to do with it.  I also hope a Clemson fan does not try anything dumb to make a point.....stay tuned for more details as I am sure this will be fun to watch.....

We will say vandalism like this is uncalled for.

Jordan Montgomery pitched a complete game shut out, and South Carolina staved off elimination in Game 2 of the super regionals Sunday afternoon. For the second consecutive day Carolina jumped on the Tarheel starter and chased him from the game.

South Carolina put together good at bats over the weekend, and that has been key to their success. Those quality at bats have led to timely hitting. One key for Monday will be the good at bats continuing.

The importance of Montgomery's performance cannot be understated. UNC hadn't been shut out in 96 games. On Sunday Gumby did just that, singlehandedly. Even more impressively, Monty overcame 3 errors.

Speaking of errors, South Carolina's defense hasn't been great. This team hasn't had the suffocating defense of past years' teams, and that deficiency has reared it's head again. To advance on Monday Carolina will have to minimize those errors.

Montgomery's performance has given the Cocks a real shot at Omaha. Many teams can force a third game, but few have anything left in the tank to fight with. Because of Gumby's outing (and Belcher's too) the bullpen is ready to go.

Westmoreland and Webb should both be good for a few innings, so you have to think Wynkoop only needs five or six good innings. Colby should be available for a right on right situation too.

One game, anything is possible. Should be fun.

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North Carolina got a 6-5 victory over South Carolina on Saturday afternoon in the first game of the Chapel Hill Super Regional. The Gamecocks need to win today and tomorrow to get back to the College World Series. As we wrote the other day, here are the "keys to Omaha."

If that is not recipe for success, maybe this pic of the UNC catcher will add a little fuel to the fire to achieve.....

Not sure about you but when I see that kind of outward cockyness, well hand me the bat....Let's Go!

Rarely is the South Carolina baseball team an underdog, but a road trip to the #1 National Seed might just do it.  For the Gamecocks to pull the upset, here are the keys.

1. The starting pitching must be effective for a long time.  The Gamecocks starting pitching is its strength.  Belcher, Montgomery and Wynkoop need to be effective in getting outs and need to stay in the game late.  The bullpen simply doesn't have the depth to pitch extended outings very often.
2. Small mistakes cannot become big mistakes.  USC is going to have some adversity, and they are going to make some mistakes.  Whether its an error in the field or a base running blunder, something will go wrong at some point.  The team has to work around it and limit the problem.
3. Put together quality at bats.  The Gamecocks had a much better hitting weekend last weekend in large part because they had a good approach at the plate.  A quality approach, whether it is putting a good swing on the first fastball you see or being patient and working the count, is key to getting runners on base, getting those runners home and exhausting the opponents' pitching.
4. Find some Magic.  Until they lose, this team is in the middle of a streak of runs to the College World Series finals.  The last three years have all had their white knuckle moments when a little magic carried Carolina through.  They'll need a little this weekend to claim their place in Omaha.

Gotta love Marcus Lattimore and go write this down...he will be a great running back for the 49ers....

Cool South Carolina football video...

Call it South Carolina versus North Carolina or as we like to say the "Battle of Carolina." What we are talking about is the super regional that begins this Friday at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Winner of the best-of-three series goes to the College World Series.

The Friday match-up is slated for a 1:00 PM start at Boshamer Stadium. The second game will be held on Saturday at 12:00 PM, and if necessary, game three will follow on Sunday at 1:00 PM.

This super regional will be worth watching as this will be the first clash of the two teams since the super regionals in 2007, wherein North Carolina moved onto Omaha. But let's not forget that USC won the crown in 2010 and 2011. Then finished runner-up last year. So these two squads know what it takes to win and both programs have the pedigree to back it up.

What you will see is a solid defensive team in UNC and a USC team that simply finds ways to win. Expect drama. Expect stellar play and expect a Carolina win. By that, we mean the real Carolina -> South Carolina.

Well, at least we hope USC can pull it out. It will take top-notch pitching, no blunders, aggressive base-running and some long balls. USC will need all nine hitters to step up. Now is the time to make plays and as the saying goes..."big time players, make big time plays in big time games." I got faith South Carolina.

One thing is certain, this will be good baseball watching......stay tuned.

So what did we learn from the Columbia Regional...

1. Liberty trumps Clemson.

2. Clemson has a new message with respect to CWS runs...

Credit for Pic.

Now, we will be able to see what kind of season it is going to be. There have already been highs, led by the series win at LSU, and there has been some adversity, sweeps and Gardner-Webb, but the season will be most remembered by what happens now.

2013 could be the year Carolina lost at Carolina Stadium. It could be the year we beat Clemson twice ... again. It could be the year we knocked off #1 North Carolina. It could be the year we lost to that #4 seed, St. Louis. The door is open, and there is no ceiling.

This weekend's narrative will be all about South Carolina and Clemson, but there is much more to this regional. Tonight it's about St. Louis. When asked about Clemson, Nolan Belcher replied "I'm pitching against St. Louis." That's the right mindset, and it will serve the team well.

What I'll be watching for tonight is quality at bats. Like I've mentioned before clutch hits come from solid, consistent approaches. Whether we're going to try to hit the St. Louis starter early in the count, or whether we're going to try to make him come to us, I'm looking forward to some consistent approaches and the dividends those will pay. If we have a good approach at the plate, and Belcher does what he has done all season, we should be in the winners' bracket on Saturday.

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