OMAHA, Neb. -- South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner told reporters Thursday afternoon he would likely decide on a starting pitcher for USC's next College World Series game later that night "before those guys go to bed so they know what's going on before they put their head down."

But reaching a decision and letting people know are separate issues.

Minutes after Virginia eliminated crowd favorite California, 8-1, at TD Ameritrade Park on Thursday night, speculation quickly turned to Friday's return engagement between USC and Virginia.

Specifically, who will be the starting pitchers for both clubs?

Tanner told reporters following Thursday afternoon's practice session at Creighton that the decision had boiled down to Forrest Koumas or Michael Roth and he "were wrestling with it a little bit." As always, Tanner will consult heavily with pitching Coach Jerry Meyers.

Meanwhile Virginia head coach Brian O'Connor was even coyer. He told reporters during the post-game press conference that the decision on who will start for the Cavaliers on Friday morning. However, since Virginia is facing a must-win situation, most analysts would be surprised if ace lefthander Danny Hultzen didn't take the mound.

"I don't have any idea right now, honestly," O'Connor insisted. "I'm going to go back to the hotel. Coach Kuhn, our pitching coach, and I will discuss it and have a decision by tomorrow morning on what we're going to do. I know whoever we start in that ballgame on the mound, our entire team will have confidence in that player that they'll go out there and get us off to a good start. And that's all we're hoping for."

Later, though, O'Connor told a small group of reporters after the press conference ended that the Virginia starter will probably be Hultzen or Whit Mayberry, who has made 17 appearances with two starts in 2011.

Hultzen, the No. 2 overall pick in the MLB Draft, is 12-3 with a 1.41 ERA in 115.0 IP with 75 hits, 26 runs, 157 K and 23 BB. Mayberry, who threw one-third of an inning and six pitches on Tuesday night against USC, is 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 33.0 IP this season.

Virginia hopes Tyler Wilson being able to last 7.2 innings on Thursday will boost their pitching depth over the next few days.

"There's no doubt that was huge," O'Connor said. "The fact he was able to go seven and two-thirds innings and we only had to use (Cody) Winiarski for a short stint, for what we have potentially in front of us, obviously a game tomorrow night, and if we can find a way to win tomorrow night, another one the next day. Saving everybody we possibly can helps your chances of advancing on."

If he starts Friday night, Roth will be working on four full days of rest after working 7.1 innings and throwing 122 pitches in Sunday's 5-4 walk-off victory over Texas A&M.

"I want to sit down and talk with him a little bit and decide if it's the right thing," Tanner said. "I want to make sure Roth feels 100 percent. He does have four days rest, but he was around 124, 125 (official count was 122). I want to make sure that's the case. It may come down to who we play. I will not make that decision alone. I will involve Coach Meyers and Michael Roth. They're instrumental in the name we put in the lineup."

Roth pronounced himself ready to pitch after Thursday's practice.

"I'll be on four days rest, which isn't a problem," Roth said. "I haven't done that all year, but I feel great physically. I've been working hard. I've been getting some running in and the training room. I'll be ready to go tomorrow (Friday) if that's how they decide to go."

Last June, Roth started Game 2 of the national championship series against UCLA on three days rest. He worked five innings, allowing six hits and one run while striking out three.

"My arm felt good but I just ran out of gas in the last couple of innings I threw," Roth recalled.

Certainly a matchup betwen Roth and Hultzen, two of the best college pitchers in the nation, would create the most buzz in Omaha and provide the ESPN announcing crew with plenty to talk about during the game.

Virginia's victory over Cal at TD Ameritrade Park set up a rematch of Tuesday night's dominating 7-1 victory by the Gamecocks.

"Virginia is a great club and they've been there the entire season," Tanner said.

The Final Four in the College World Series consists of three schools from the SEC (USC, Florida and Vanderbilt) and one from the ACC (Virginia).

The national championship series starts Monday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. The SEC is eyeing their third consecutive national championship, and only Virginia stands in the way.

Another sport dominated by the most powerful conference in college sports.

GET IT DOWN QUICKLY: Conventional wisdom says South Carolina will approach Friday night's game without a sense of urgency because even if they lost they still have Saturday night's game left. But Tanner is the last coach who wants his club to foray into a single game, winner-take-all situation.

"The good news is we have a mulligan, but we'd hate to have to use it," Tanner said. "We'll try to be ready to go and be in a good frame of mind. We have great perspective and some maturity on this team. You have to do the best you can today and worry about everything else later. I know there are a lot of coaches in other sports who are a lot smarter than I am, but I seem to work best in the moment. I can't look too far ahead. We might get rained out three days in a row."

Jackie Bradley said Thursday USC wants to earn their spot in the national championship series "as quickly as possible."

"We want more rest," Bradley Jr. said. "It's good to have off days and just practice and take it easy. We've handled it pretty well so far. We've come out every day and gotten our work in. We're having fun, but we're not taking it lightly or anything like that."

USC's reward for Tuesday night's near flawless performance in the decisive win over Virginia was two days off. The Gamecocks worked out both days at Creighton and visited the local Children's Hospital.

"I've really been pleased," Tanner said. "They wanted to come out and get some work in. We had some energy, we executed a little bit and swung the bats pretty good. The news for the coaching staff is we have some experience on this team. We don't worry quite as much as you would if you had 15 freshmen and seven of them were playing. That would be a little bit of a concern. But these guys understand what the deal is and what's at stake. It's all about baseball. We don't have to worry about the other things because of the experience."

When USC is winning, Tanner is usually reluctant to make changes to the lineup, but he suggested Thursday that might not be the case on Friday.

"I think Matthews is still in play, Neff is still in play," Tanner said. "Those guys have played a lot. Matthews not so much lately. But you have to think about those guys when you put lineups together."

VIRGINIA ELIMINATES CALIFORNIA: A single and three-base error by California centerfielder Darrel Matthews in the top of the sixth helped Virginia break open a close game as the Cavaliers ended the Golden Bears' Cinderella run to the College World Series just a few months after university officials had threatened to cut the program but backed off when supporters raised nearly $10 million to secure the long-term future of the sport.

Virginia scored twice in the third on a wild pitch and sacrifice fly before Matthews' miscue (he allowed a single to skip past him) opened the door to a four-run sixth. After that, the Cavs turned it over to starting pitcher Tyler Wilson (7.2 IP) and reliever Cody Winiarski (1.1 IP), who combined to limit Calto six hits and one walk.

The win in the elimination game gave Virginia another crack at the Gamecocks. Even though the Cavs played poorly in the first meeting with three errors and limited production at the plate, O'Connor said they wouldn't change anything in the way they prepare.

"I don't think we approach the game any differently," O'Connor said. "South Carolina has got a very good ballclub. So do we. Tomorrow night's game has nothing to do with the previous game that we've played. There's no question we're going to have to play a really good ballgame. But so are they to win."

NOTES:

-- With 10 games in the books, USC is leading all CWS teams in batting (.311) and pitching (0.50 ERA). USC has 12 runs on 23 hits in two games, while allowing just five runs and nine hits in 18.0 IP. USC is second in defense with a .988 team fielding percentage. USC has 26 assists, 54 putouts and turned three double plays while committing one error

-- Through 10 games, USC's Scott Wingo is tied with Virginia's Keith Werman for the top batting average among the eight CWS teams. Wingo is hitting .571 (4-for-7) with one RBI and one run scored. Of course, his biggest hit (and one of the biggest of his career) occurred last Sunday when he had a walk-off single to drive home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth against Texas A&M.

-- Following Wingo, the next two USC batters to appear among the hitting leaders are Brady Thomas (.375) and Christian Walker (.333). LHP Michael Roth is one of four hurlers who has worked at least 2.0 IP with a 0.00 ERA. John Taylor also has a 0.00 ERA in 5.1 IP.

-- USC's Adrian Morales is tied with three other players for most runs scored in the CWS with three.

-- USC is one of four CWS teams without a home run in Omaha.

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES SCORES/SCHEDULE:

GAMES OF SAT. JUNE 18

Vanderbilt 7, North Carolina 3

Florida 8, Texas 4

GAMES OF SUN., JUNE 19

Virginia 4, California 1

South Carolina 5, Texas A&M 4

GAMES OF MON., JUNE 20

North Carolina 3, Texas 0 (TEX eliminated)

Vanderbilt v. Florida (Susp. in 6th Inn.)

GAMES OF TUE., JUNE 21

Florida 3, Vanderbilt 1 (Conclusion of Susp. Game)

California 7, Texas A&M 3 (TAM eliminated)

USC 7, Virginia 1

GAME OF WED. JUNE 22:

Vanderbilt 5, North Carolina 1 (UNC eliminated)

GAME OF THUR. JUNE 23:

Virginia 8, California 1 (CAL eliminated)

GAMES OF FRI., JUNE 24:

Florida v. Vanderbilt, 2 p.m. (ESPN)(Bracket 1 Championship Round)

South Carolina v. Virginia, 7 p.m. (ESPN)(Bracket 2 Championship Round).

(All Times Eastern).

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