When he flipped the ball to Justin Row to end the game, it was about none of those growing pains this season, just jubilation as the Gamecocks took care of UNCW 8-4 to win the Greenville Regional and advance to the Super Regionals for the second time in three years.

GREENVILLE, N.C.—As the ball bounced toward LT Tolbert at shortstop, he wasn’t thinking about being only three games above .500 just seven weeks ago and coming off a loss to Presbyterian.

“Years ago they decided to come to this program because they wanted to experience that,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “To see them deal with the ups and downs they’ve had for a while, to see them get that out and go to a super regional with a chance to go to Omaha, that as a coach is what you care about the most.”

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The Gamecocks were able to pick up timely hits when they needed some as they cruised past the Seahawks to set up another showdown against Arkansas, who they’re 1-3 against this season, with a trip to the College World Series on the line.

As it was the majority of the late-season turnaround, the Gamecock seniors were able to power their team to a victory.

After Hunter Taylor opened the scoring with a two-run double, Madison Stokes launched a two-run double—his first hit of the regional—to right-center in a one-run game and Jonah Bride put the nail in the coffin with a two-run shot to left to end the scoring.

When all was said and done, the Gamecock seniors had six of the team’s 15 hits and drove in seven runs with South Carolina never trailing Monday.

“Coaches trust each player to do our job and I think each of us did that this weekend,” Stokes said “What they did for us today was special. What they did for us this weekend helped a lot.”

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They got off to a good start thanks to Carmen Mlodzinski, who threw two scoreless innings to start the game and finished allowing three runs on four hits over five-plus innings.

He’d strike out three and leave after giving up a two-run homer to Kep Brown in the sixth inning to make it a then one-run game.

Mlodzinski (3-5, 4.84 ERA), who was the midweek starter the last half of the season, was chosen to start over Logan Chapman and didn’t disappoint, picking up his first win in four appearances.

“That’s why you have to do that on a Tuesday night,” Kingston said. “You have to give them innings so when you need them in a regional setting; they’re ready. I think everything that led up to today prepared Carmen.”

Click for Monday's box score

Eddy Demurias settled down the game after Brown’s home run, getting out of a two-on, no-out jam in the sixth before retiring 12 of the last 16 batters he faced.

After throwing 65 pitches Friday, Demurias got another day to rest with Sunday’s game getting postponed, and he responded with five strikeouts to just one walk. Of his 45 pitches, 33 were strikes.

“It definitely helped, the extra day,” Demurias said. “I felt pretty fresh today. I was just trying to keep the game in our favor when I was in there when my number was called today. I’m just happy to be a part of this win.”

The Gamecocks are now just two wins away from the College World Series, a place they haven’t sniffed since 2012. They made it to the Supers in 2016, but lost the first two games against Oklahoma State to be eliminated.

Now, though, the Gamecocks are on fire and have come “back from the dead” and want more than just to advance out of a regional.

“We expected to be here,” Stokes said.“Now that we’re here, we expect to make it further than that. We’re not going to stop.”

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Player of the game: Freshman pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski, who got the starting nod over Logan Chapman, earned the win and allowed just three runs and four hits.

Pivotal moment: With two on and no outs, Sawyer Bridges picked up three outs to end the game.

Up next: South Carolina moves on to the Super Regionals and will play a best-of-three series against Arkansas with the winner going to the College World Series.