For the second year in a row, South Carolina baseball is in a regional with North Carolina State.
Last year the Wolfpack traveled to Founders Park, and this time the Gamecocks will return the favor with a trip as the No. 3 seed in the Raleigh Regional.
The full regional has North Carolina State as the host, South Carolina as the No. 2 seed, James Madison as the No. 3 seed — and therefore South Carolina’s first opponent — with the No. 4 seed Bryant rounding it out.
"It's a program we respect a lot," Mark Kingston said about North Carolina State. "We saw them last year at this time, so now it's kind of like a home-and-home regional. They came to us, and now we're going to them."
While the Wolfpack headline the regional and will have it in their own ballpark, the Gamecocks will have to contend with James Madison first. The Dukes are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 after just sneaking in as one of the selection committee's "last four teams" in the field.
"We'll have to do a lot of homework on them," Kingston said about James Madison. "We don't get to play NC State unless we win game one, and NC State has to win their game."
This is the first time in the Kingston era, the Gamecocks are in the NCAA Tournament for the second season in a row. The run a year ago featured wins over Central Connecticut State, NC State and Campbell in the regional before losing to Florida in the Super Regional. It is the first time the Gamecocks have been to Raleigh for a regional since 2008.
On the other side of the bracket for a spot in Omaha, the Raleigh Regional is paired with the Athens Regional featuring Georgia, UNC-Wilmington, Georgia Tech and Army.
Action will start on Friday at 2 p.m. ET, with games continuing through at least Sunday, or Monday.
Regional Schedule
Game One: No. 2 South Carolina vs. No. 3 James Madison, Friday 2 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Game Two: No. 1 North Carolina State vs. No. 4 Bryant, Friday 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Game Three: Game One Loser vs. Game Two Loser, Friday 12 p.m. ET
Game Four: Game One Winner vs. Game Two Winner, Saturday 6 p.m. ET
Game Five: Game Three Winner vs. Game Four Loser, Sunday 12 p.m. ET
Game Six: Game Five Winner vs. Game Four Winner, Sunday 6 p.m. ET
Game Seven: Game Six Winner vs. Game Seven Loser, If Necessary, TBD
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