Well, here we are again. The Gamecocks are one game away from going home. After Sunday night’s loss South Carolina needs to win Monday night and Tuesday night to improbably become the three time national champion. This will be the 8th must win game for Carolina in the last three years in Omaha. USC is 7-0 in the past 7 elimination games.
Who is going to pitch for us tonight? It will almost certainly be Michael Roth. In a game of this importance, it’s great to be able to hand the ball to him. If you’re good enough to beat him, then you deserve a win over USC. If not, well, then you’re in good company.
Roth will set or extend several records with his start tonight. The start will be his 8th in the College World Series which would put him alone in 1st place all time in that category. He is already in first place in terms of innings pitched, so any outs he records will extend that record.
Who will Arizona pitch? They will probably be going with their ace as well. The Wildcats are expected to throw Kurt Heyer. Heyer has a 2.24 ERA and 13-2 record. He has struck out 113 against only 28 walks, but opponents are batting .256 against him.
South Carolina is in a must win game, but they really don’t have anything left to prove. They shouldn’t feel any pressure. They’ve accomplished more in the past 3 years than most every program in the history of college baseball. They’ve won games they shouldn’t have, and they’ve defied the odds for more than 1,000 days. It would be sweet to get to play another day, but if this is when it ends, there is nothing to regret.
