The South Carolina baseball team will spend another weekend in Columbia, as the NCAA announced Sunday night that the Gamecocks are one of 16 regional hosts. Unfortunately for the team, South Carolina was not selected as one of the eight national seeds, meaning they are not guaranteed to host a super regional.
The Columbia regional is paired with the Clemson regional, for the Tigers were selected as the No. 7 national seed. If the Palmetto State rivals both win their respective regionals, Clemson will host the Gamecocks in a best-of-three super regional, where the winner would advance to the College World Series.
Traveling to Clemson could spell bad news for South Carolina, as the Gamecocks beat the Tigers in Columbia this season, but lost on the road and at a neutral site.
Before focusing on their in-state rival, South Carolina must take care of business in the regional, which features UNC Wilmington, Duke and Rhode Island. The Gamecocks will open with Rhode Island on Friday looking to survive the double-elimination tournament.
Clemson will play host to Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Western Carolina.
The Gamecocks could still host a super regional, but they would need some help. In order to keep playing baseball in Columbia, South Carolina must win their own regional, and Clemson would have to be eliminated.