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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
