South Carolina Gamecocks baseball

South Carolina played its first intercollegiate game on May 2, 1895 against Wofford in Spartanburg after the faculty agreed to let the athletic teams travel outside of Columbia.[3] After decades of lackluster performance on the diamond, Carolina's fortunes quickly changed with the hiring of former New York Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson in 1970. Since then, the Gamecocks have been regular NCAA tournament participants, making 31 Regional and 11 College World Series appearances.

Carolina owns a 32–20 all-time record at the College World Series and is 137–71 in NCAA tournament play. Carolina holds the NCAA tournament records for consecutive NCAA tournament wins (22), consecutive CWS wins (12), and consecutive home NCAA tournament wins (30). In 124 years of baseball, through 2016, Carolina has 2,533 wins, 1,508 losses, and 17 ties.

In the 10 years from 2000–2009, South Carolina posted an impressive 468–201 overall record (179–120 SEC). The 468 overall wins ranked fourth in Division I College Baseball (first among SEC programs), and the 179 SEC victories led the conference for the decade. The Gamecocks made the NCAA tournament every season, advancing to seven Super Regionals and three College World Series (first CWS berths since 1985). In addition, South Carolina won 40 or more games each season and hit the 50-win mark on three occasions (2000, 2002, 2004). The highlight of the decade was an appearance in the 2002 National Championship game against Texas, who defeated the Gamecocks by a score of 12–6. The 2002 squad finished with a 57–18 mark, setting the record for most season victories in program history.

• 2000–2004: Winningest Program in NCAA Division I – In the five seasons from 2000 to 2004, South Carolina won more games than any other Division I College Baseball program in the nation (260–87 record). This stretch included five Super Regionals, three College World Series berths, three 50-win seasons, a 99–50 SEC record, three SEC championships (2 season and 1 tournament), and three SEC East titles.

South Carolina won eight SEC series to finish 21–9 in regular season conference play (2nd place), but posted an 0–2 mark in the SEC Tournament. Once the NCAA tournament began, however, the Gamecocks rode strong pitching and clutch hitting to win their Regional and Super Regional and earn a berth in the College World Series. After an opening game loss to Oklahoma, South Carolina reeled off four straight victories to reach the championship series against UCLA. The Gamecocks continued their hot streak, defeating the Bruins in consecutive games (7–1[5] and 2–1) to win the 2010 National Championship.[6] South Carolina finished the season with a 54–16 overall record, which included an 11–1 mark in NCAA postseason play. South Carolina was the final team to win the CWS Championship in Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, and Gamecock center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. was named CWS Most Outstanding Player.[7]

South Carolina won eight SEC series to finish 21–9 in regular season conference play (2nd place), but posted an 0–2 mark in the SEC Tournament. Once the NCAA tournament began, however, the Gamecocks rode strong pitching and clutch hitting to win their Regional and Super Regional and earn a berth in the College World Series. After an opening game loss to Oklahoma, South Carolina reeled off four straight victories to reach the championship series against UCLA. Just as in 2002, the Gamecocks had to defeat arch rival Clemson twice (5-1 & 4-3) to reach the tournament finals against heavily favored UCLA. The Gamecocks continued their hot streak, defeating the Bruins in consecutive games (7–1[8] and 2–1) to win the 2010 National Championship.[9] South Carolina finished the season with a 54–16 overall record, which included an 11–1 mark in NCAA postseason play. South Carolina was the final team to win the CWS Championship in Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, and Gamecock center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. was named CWS Most Outstanding Player. This marked the University's first major athletic national championship.[10]

South Carolina finished the 2011 regular season 44–12 (22–8 SEC) and shared the SEC regular season championship with divisional rivals Florida and Vanderbilt, but posted a 1–2 mark in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama despite their #1 overall seeding. Once the NCAA tournament began, however, the Gamecocks rode strong pitching, clutch hitting and incredible defense while cruising through their Regional and Super Regional, without a loss, on their way to a second consecutive berth in the College World Series. South Carolina proceeded to defeat Texas A&M 5–4 in their first game, then swept #1 national seed Virginia (7–1 and 3–2) in the next two, including a 13-inning win in the second matchup, to battle their way back to the CWS Championship Series versus SEC Eastern Division foe Florida.[11] This marked the second time two teams from the SEC had participated in the Championship Series/Games. In Game 1 of the Championship Series, South Carolina lived up to their mantra as they battled to win their second straight extra inning game in the CWS, 2–1 over the Gators, in 11 innings.[12] They had a much easier time with the favored Gators in Game 2, winning 5–2 to earn the 2011 CWS Championship and their second consecutive national title.[13] The Gamecock defense turned an incredible nine double-plays in this CWS – no other participant turned more than three. South Carolina finished the season with a 55–14 overall record, setting a new NCAA record for consecutive post-season wins with 16, a new record for consecutive College World Series wins with 11, and became the just the sixth program in history to win back-to-back NCAA Division I Baseball Championships. Carolina became the first team to win the College World Series in the new TD Ameritrade Park, and Gamecock second baseman Scott Wingo was named CWS Most Outstanding Player.[14]

• 1975 – The 1975 Gamecocks won four games at the College World Series behind strong starting pitching, but were ultimately defeated twice by the Texas Longhorns. In the title game, Texas defeated South Carolina 5–1. The Gamecocks finished the season with a 51–6–1 record.
• 1977 – Just two years after finishing #2 nationally, the Gamecocks returned to Omaha in 1977. South Carolina rode solid pitching to three victories, before losing twice to Arizona State. In the title game, the Sun Devils defeated the Gamecocks 2–1. South Carolina finished the season with a 43–12–1 record.
• 2002 – The Gamecocks returned to the CWS in 2002 after not reaching Omaha since 1985. After an 11–0 loss to Georgia Tech, the Gamecocks reeled off four straight victories, including two against arch-rival Clemson. This began a streak of four straight wins (including 2010) over Clemson in Omaha's College World Series- where the Gamecocks have never lost to the Tigers. Texas defeated South Carolina 12–6 in the national championship game. The Gamecocks finished the season with a 54–16 record.
• 2012 – The Gamecocks made it back to the CWS championship series in 2012 after winning the National Championship in 2010 and 2011 with a #8 national seed. After defeating the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament in Florida, the Gamecocks followed with victories over Kent State and Arkansas. The Gamecocks were eliminated 2–0 by the Arizona Wildcats in the National Championship series. The Gamecocks finished the season with a 49 – 20 record.

• 1975 – The Gamecocks went 51–6–1, won the NCAA Atlantic Regional, and finished National Runner-up to Texas at the College World Series.
• 2000 – The Gamecocks went 56–10 overall (25–5 SEC), won the SEC season championship, and reached the Super Regionals.
• 2002 – The Gamecocks went 57–18 overall (21–8 SEC), won the SEC season championship, and finished National Runner-up to Texas at the College World Series.
• 2004 – The Gamecocks went 53–17 overall (17–13 SEC), won the SEC tournament championship, and reached the College World Series.
• 2010 – The Gamecocks went 54–16 overall (21–9 SEC), reached the College World Series, and defeated UCLA in the championship series to win their first National Title.
• 2011 – The Gamecocks went 55–14 overall (22–8 SEC), won a share of the SEC East and season titles, and defeated SEC rival Florida to win their second straight National Championship.

• Super Regional play was implemented by the NCAA in 1999.

• Golden Spikes Award – Kip Bouknight (2000)
• Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year Award – Kip Bouknight (2000)
• College World Series MVP – Jackie Bradley Jr. (2010), Scott Wingo (2011)
• National Coach of the Year – Ray Tanner (2000, 2010, 2011)
• National Assistant Coach of the Year – Jim Toman (2002), Chad Holbrook (2011)
• SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Trey Dyson (2002), Michael Roth (2012)
• SEC Player of the Year – Kip Bouknight (2000), Yaron Peters (2002)
• SEC Pitcher of the Year – David Marchbanks (2003)
• SEC Coach of the Year – Ray Tanner (1998, 2000, 2011)
• Lefty Gomez Award for Best Pitcher in College Baseball- Randy Martz (1977)

• List of NCAA Division I baseball programs

• Official website