Stetson, NC State kick off three-day series Friday at 1 p.m.
South Carolina isn't oblivious, but it also isn't going to get ahead of itself.
The Gamecocks, like everyone else, know what's possible. What could formulate over the next week or so. What it could all come down to. It would be impossible to not know with even the quickest of glances at the 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket.
But the defending national champion and overall No. 4 national seed isn't going to think about the possibility of a Super Regional date with hated rival Clemson and a rematch of March's contentious three-game, three-city series until it has to.
"Absolutely not," USC coach Ray Tanner told reporters Monday when asked if he is looking down the road to what could be.
Instead, Carolina (45-14) is solely focused on the task at hand — winning the Columbia Regional, which begins Friday at Carolina Stadium.
"I think it's a very difficult regional, no question about it," Tanner said.
No. 2 seed Stetson will open the regional against 3-seed N.C. State at 1 p.m. Friday, followed by the Gamecocks and 4-seed Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. Tanner had nothing but high praise for GSU, which earned its way into the field of 64 by winning the Southern Conference Tournament and grabbing the league's automatic bid.
"I've got to think Georgia Southern is the best in the country, based on a quick look at the brackets," Tanner said.
The dominant story in all of college baseball this season has been the reduction of offense thanks to the new BBCOR standards bats, as evidenced by the Eagles' (36-24) nip-and-tuck 1-0 win over Samford in the SoCon title game to earn their bid.
However, GSU has a key cog in its lineup that is defying the perception of the new bats — right fielder Victor Roache. The Ypsilanti, Mich., native has belted 30 home runs — the most in the nation — and 83 RBIs — tied for most in the nation — this season in what Tanner called, perhaps understatedly, an "impressive" campaign.
The Eagles also have a bit of a history with USC, and one that involves free baseball at that. In 2009, GSU fell to the Gamecocks in Columbia 2-1 in a rainy 10-inning affair. Last season, USC needed 13 innings to outlast the Eagles 8-5 in Statesboro.
"Coach [Rodney] Hennon has done a tremendous job down at Georgia Southern," Tanner said. "They're very good. They got hot at the right time."
If GSU is the best 4-seed in the tournament, Stetson (41-18) could make a claim as one of the best 2-seeds. The Hatters have struggled of late, losing eight of their last 12, but they've spent time ranked in the national polls this season and have some impressive wins to their name, including a season-opening three-game sweep of Georgia and a 6-4 extra-innings win at national No. 5 seed Florida State back in March.
"Stetson's a team that, for a while, there was talk that they could even play themselves into a national seed," Tanner said. "They were a really, really good team."
No. 3 seed N.C. State (34-25) is a team Tanner knows very well. Tanner played at, graduated from and coached at State, including a stint as head coach from 1988 to 1996, spending "20 consecutive years" on campus in Raleigh, as he put it. But, he said, if the Gamecocks do meet the Wolfpack, he won't struggle with any emotions.
"I'm wearing a different uniform now," Tanner said.
If USC can navigate its regional as expected, there's a good chance they'll be hosting Clemson next week in the Supers. The Tigers will host a regional of their own at Doug Kingsmore Stadium against 2-seed UConn, 3-seed Coastal Carolina and 4-seed Sacred Heart. The winner of the Clemson group will move on to face the winner of the Columbia regional in a three-game series for the right to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.