Just some notes before the Gamecocks take on the Sun Devils this afternoon at Rosenblatt:

-The Sun Devils have become familiar foes for the Gamecocks in the confines of Rosenblatt Stadium. The two teams have met five teams at the College World Series as Arizona State leads the series 3-2. 

-Sam Dyson will start for South Carolina this afternoon and will hope for a stronger start than his last postseason outing. Against Coastal Carolina in Game 2 of the Myrtle Beach Super Regional, Dyson lasted just an inning and a third, allowing four earned runs without striking out a batter. Even though he didn't earn the win, he was much more effective in the team's postseason opener against Bucknell in the Columbia Regional. Against the Bison, Dyson pitched five innings, allowing four earned runs and striking out seven batters.

-If South Carolina needs to go to the bullpen, it will call on a relatively well-rested relief corps. Despite using five relievers on Sunday, only Michael Roth faced more than three batters.

-To stay alive at the College World Series, the Gamecocks must do a better job of cashing in opportunities at the plate. Against the Sooners on Sunday night, South Carolina was hitless with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base.

-It's been well-documented that the Gamecocks have struggled in opening games at the College World Series as Sunday night's loss was their seventh straight loss in the opener. However, the Gamecocks have only been eliminated in their second game twice. In 2002, Carolina won four straight and won three straight in 2004 when facing elimination.

-If the Gamecocks win today, their next game would be Thursday at 7 p.m. against the loser of tonight's Oklahoma-Clemson game. A win in that game would put Carolina against the winner of the OU-CU game on Friday at 9 PM. A win on Friday would set up a second game against the same team to decide who advances to the championship series. Essentially, the Gamecocks need a four-game winning streak over the next five days.