South Carolina can't 'relax' on quest for second CWS title

OMAHA  When South Carolina coach Ray Tanner talks about his team, the word he keeps coming back to is "battle." It's the verb he believes best describes the Gamecocks' approach to baseball. The program has flourished when it has stuck close to the "up against a wall, the cards are against us" mindset.

Tanner is uneasy with the position South Carolina is in today when it faces the winner of Thursday's elimination game between Virginia and California in the finals of their bracket at the College World Series. USC isn't an underdog, it's the defending national champion. With a 2-0 record in Omaha, South Carolina has the upper hand against the Cavaliers or Bears, who must win twice to advance to Monday's best-of-three championship series.

"We have some good athletes, but there are teams that have better athletes than we do and some better arms," Tanner said. "We've done a good job, and I'm not trying to sandbag in any way. But the truth of the matter is, we have to do things really well to win."

South Carolina has managed that 51 times in 65 games this season. The fourth-seeded Gamecocks came back from a four-run deficit in the first inning to beat Texas A&M 5-4 in their CWS opener and then dismantled No. 1 seed Virginia 7-1 with a performance that Tanner said was among their best of the season.

"South Carolina, quite frankly, beat us in every phase of the game," agreed Cavaliers coach Brian O'Connor.

That gave South Carolina the luxury of having to win only once more to reach the title series. Last year at this time, the Gamecocks were fighting for their lives.

USC lost to Oklahoma 4-3 in its CWS opener in 2010. The Gamecocks haven't lost in the postseason since, a 13-game run that ties an NCAA record. Included in that streak are three walk-off wins in Omaha, including the opener against the Aggies earlier this week.

"I'm ecstatic to be in the position I am right now, but I don't relax too much," Tanner said. "As I told our players, we won our first two but that's not the ultimate here. You've got to keep winning."

South Carolina returned seven starters and closer Matt Price from its championship team. The major question was how the Gamecocks would replace their top two starting pitchers.

Left-handed reliever Michael Roth became an Omaha legend last year after starting twice for a worn-out staff. He responded by allowing two runs in 14 innings and moved to the front of the rotation this season, going 13-3 with a 0.97 ERA in 18 starts.

South Carolina's title hopes took a hit in late April when centerfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., went out with a torn wrist tendon. Bradley was the Most Outstanding Player of last year's Series, hitting .345 with two homers and nine RBI, one of those when he singled home the tying run in extra innings with the Gamecocks down to their final strike.

Bradley returned to the lineup Sunday against Texas A&M and contributed a single in the winning ninth-inning surge. He doubled and singled against Virginia and has upgraded the defense with his speed.

"We're in a good spot, but we know that we're a long way from where we need to be," said Bradley, who was a supplemental first-round pick this month in the major league draft. "It's still early. We're not taking anything for granted."

Tanner won't let them.

"I don't think too far past today," he said on the eve of the tournament. "I don't read websites. I don't tweet. I don't do Facebook. I don't do a lot of things.

"I think we're the kind of club that a lot of times when people play us, they don't think we're very good. We know we're not going to scare anybody, and we're not going to blow anybody out.

"We just try to stay in position to do the things we need to do and try to win in the end."