Playing the role of underdog in an NCAA Tournament regional is not something coach Ray Tanner and his USC baseball team had been accustomed to in the past. Seeded No. 2 in the Atlanta region, the Gamecocks finally met their match, being eliminated by Georgia Tech June 6 in the regional championship game and failing to reach the College World Series for the first time in three seasons.
USC senior first baseman Steve Pearce and juniors Neil Giesler and Michael Campbell were named to the regional all-tournament team. Pearce led players in the regional with 10 hits.
In a game delayed an hour because of lightning, the Gamecocks never could get their bats to cooperate, managing only five hits off Yellow Jacket pitchers sophomore Tim Gustafson and freshman Matt Wieters.
USC senior pitcher Aaron Rawl asked Tanner to put the ball in his hand for the deciding game and was granted his request. Hoping his ace would limit the Yellow Jackets for a few strong innings, Tanner's plan backfired.
Rawl surrendered four runs on seven hits in two and one-third innings, being replaced in favor of sophomore left-hander Forrest Beverly. Beverly gave up only four hits and one run in six and two-thirds innings, his longest outing of the season.
USC opened the regional tournament with a 6-5 victory against Michigan
The win sent the Gamecocks into a matchup with the Yellow Jackets, and USC found out why the Ramblin' Wreck earned the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament. Georgia Tech put up four runs in the top of the first, piling on 17 hits for the game in a 10-2 win.
The Gamecocks clawed their way back, waiting out a three-and-a-half-hour rain delay to eliminate Michigan 4-3 and setting up a rematch with the Yellow Jackets.
USC forced the deciding game with an 8-3 win over Tech that included four home runs by the Gamecocks and a outing by junior Andy Lambert.
The first Gamecock to go in the MLB draft surprised many, as shortstop Steven Tolleson was picked by the Minnesota Twins in the fifth round as the 165th pick.
Pearce's decision to stay at USC another year seems to have paid off, as the senior first baseman's stock rose for a 10th-round pick last year to a an eighth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates as the 241st.
The final Gamecock to go on the draft's opening day was senior pitcher Zac McCamie, who went to the Florida Marlins in the 17th round as the 516th.
Day two of the draft saw four Gamecocks selected, as Rawl went in the 21st round to the Philadelphia. Rawl finished his career with 35 wins, third all-time at USC.
USC waited six more rounds for another player to be picked, as junior Davy Gregg went to the Chicago Cubs as the 820th pick in the 27th round.
While he was plagued with arm injuries all season, sophomore pitcher Arik Hempy managed to be the 933rd pick in the 31st round by the Baltimore Orioles.
The final Gamecock drafted was sophomore pitcher Forrest Beverly. Beverly went as the 1,248th pick in the 42nd round to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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