'We all remember': South Carolina looks to keep momentum going into Super Regional rematch in Gainesville
As the ball sailed right into Florida second baseman Cade Kurland’s glove, the journey had come to an end. Despite all the months of hard work dating back to the prior summer, South Carolina had come up short yet again. This time, just two wins short of going to Omaha.
All the Gamecocks could do was watch on from the dugout with pain in their eyes as a celebration ensued. Florida was going to the College World Series.
“We lost the chance to go to Omaha. I mean, that’s what sticks out,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “We went there as a very hot team that had the ability to be one of the best eight teams in the country. I think when all was set and done, we were one of the best eight teams in the country. But we had to go on the road to the team that ended up finishing second in the country, and we lost the series, so that’s what stands out.”
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More than 10 months removed from that day, South Carolina will head back to Gainesville. It won’t be under the same circumstances of playing for the right to go to Omaha. But even in a three-game series in the heat of SEC play, it should still have that postseason-type feel.
“It’s almost like our rival cause we play them the next five years or something like that,” Ethan Petry said. “I feel like it’s going to be really competitive and the atmosphere is great there. Their past couple SEC series at home have been outstanding crowds, and we expect a lot of people there. A lot of people from my hometown will be there too cheering on the Gamecocks.”
For the players who have been with the program for at least two years, they’ve watched Florida end their season not just once but twice. It might be easy to forget, but the Gators walked off South Carolina in the 2022 SEC Tournament. And that was in a season where the Gamecocks finished under .500 for the first time since 1996.
“It definitely does have that rivalry feel now, especially for my class,” Eli Jones said. “My freshman and sophomore year, they ended our season both years. So we definitely remember that. And it is a big series for us for many reasons. But we aren’t going to treat it any differently. We’re going to go out there and play baseball to the best of our ability.”
After losing in the national championship last year, this season hasn’t been too kind to Florida so far. Sitting at 17-15 (6-6 SEC), the Gators will come into this weekend on a four-game losing skid. But they’ll have the benefit of being back at home, which doesn’t bode well for South Carolina.
The Gamecocks are also .500 in conference play but have lost three of their last four series, two of which came on the road. The stakes will be high going into this weekend as both teams are in need of a series win to get rolling.
“It’s Florida, again, they’re gonna have a very competitive mindset. They always have, they always will. And you’ve got to respect their ability to win games,” Kingston said. “They’ve struggled some in the midweeks, but they’ve also had some really good weekends. So we respect the program and respect going down into their ballpark because in this league, that’s always a challenge.”
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South Carolina will open the series with the Gators on Friday night. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network Plus. The right-hander Jones (2-1, 3.89 ERA) will get the ball in the opener.
And despite both teams having vastly different rosters from the last time they met, the Gamecocks don’t plan to forget what happened in the past.
“That chip will definitely be there, we all remember,” Jones said. “We’ve got new guys obviously. So it is a new season but that memory is in the back of our heads and does create a chip on our shoulder. And we’re ready to go down there and compete.”
