They found out quickly, learning they’d be the No. 2 seed in the Greenville, North Carolina regional hosted by East Carolina.

South Carolina entered Monday’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show knowing it was in the field. Now, they just had to figure out where they’d be playing.

“When you see your name up on that screen a lot of things go through your head: the first team meeting, you remember the ups and the downs because we’ve had a lot of those this year,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “It makes you feel good as a coach.”

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The Gamecocks (32-24, 17-13 SEC) will take on the No. 3-seeded Ohio State Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. EDT on ESPN 2.

East Carolina, the host and top seed in the regional, will take on the No.4 UNC Wilmington Friday night.

The last time they faced East Carolina in Greenville was in a Super Regional against the Pirates where they lost 10-9 in game three.

The Gamecocks haven’t played Ohio State since 1988 when they went 2-1 in a series in Columbia. Kingston said he hasn’t heard much on Ohio State, but he and the staff will start scouting as early as Monday.

“I know what we got, and I’m excited about that going into Friday against a team obviously good enough to be in the regional,” Madison Stokes said. “We’re just really excited to get going and see what they got.”

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After a year hiatus, the Gamecocks are back in the NCAA Tournament field for the 32nd time in school history since the regional format started.

The Greenville regional is paired with the Fayetteville, Arkansas regional hosted by Arkansas. The Gamecocks have already played the Razorbacks four times this season, dropping the series in Fayetteville and losing 13-7 in the SEC Tournament last weekend.

The Gamecocks enter the NCAA Tournament 5-5 over their last 10 games, including going 12-6 to close the SEC regular season and in the SEC Tournament.

Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Gamecocks are confident in their play over that stretch going into the Greenville regional.

“It’s obviously very special,” Jonah Bride said. “I think we’ve played the best of the best so we know what we’re playing against. You just have to get hot at the right time and take it game by game.”

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The Gamecocks went 1-2 in the SEC Tournament, playing two games that ended well after midnight and dropping an extra inning game against LSU on short rest.

After going through what Kingston called a “grind” in Hoover, the Gamecocks think they’re prepared moving forward.

“There’s no question this league and that tournament prepares you to play anywhere. You go on the road at Texas A&M and it’s tough,” Kingston said. “This team is used to playing tough games, tough series. If we don’t play well, that won’t be an excuse. We’re prepared to play good baseball, now it’s just about going out there and doing it.”

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