South Carolina is one of 16 host sites of NCAA Regionals this weekend as part of the 2011 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. Each Regional consists of four teams, seeded one through four, who play a double elimination format tournament to determine a Regional Champion who will move on to the next round of the Championship, the Super Regionals. Click here to see the full bracket.
Friday, June 3
Game 1 - No. 2 Stetson vs. No. 3 NC State - 1 p.m.
Game 2 - No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Georgia Southern - 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 4
Game 3 - Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 - 1 p.m.
Game 4 - Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 - 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 5
Game 5 - Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 - 1 p.m.
Game 6 - Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4 - 7 p.m.
Monday, June 6
Game 7 - If Necessary - 7 p.m.
While Carolina Stadium is the venue and South Carolina is the host institution, the Regional is an official NCAA event, not a normal Carolina home game. Some aspects of NCAA games are noticeably different from home games. The general rule for fans to remember: whatever is done for one team must be done for all. For example, the music and videos we play must be equal or the same for each team. Whatever we play for one team, we have to play for both teams. We can still play fan-favorite "Sandstorm" when a Gamecock hits a home run as we always do, it just means that we will also play "Sandstorm" if an opposing team's player hits one. Same goes for fight songs and other school-specific music. We also won't be playing our normal intro video from the season (but you can still watch it here before the game, I know I will!)
The national anthem will be played prior to each game, each day of the Regional. However, team introductions will be conducted only for the first games in which teams compete and the championship game. The entire team personnel, including support staff, coaches, non-starters and starters will be introduced before each team's first game, which is a nice recognition since normally before games only the starting line-up is announced.
The higher-seeded team is the "home" team for the first round of games on Friday. For the ensuing games however, the home team is determined by a series of guidelines. The first guideline is the team that has been the home team the fewer number of times in that particular tournament. If both teams are the same, the list of guidelines continues until it's resolved. It's a long list so I won't bore you with all the details here. (Basically, fans just need to know that Carolina won't automatically be the home team every game.)
PARKING/SHUTTLES
Baseball season parking passes ARE valid for postseason play and will allow you entry to your normal parking lot this weekend.
Lots #1, #2, #3, #4, #8, #10 and all $10.00 Game Day Lots will open at 10:00 a.m. each day.
Business Lots #6, #7, #9 will also open at 10:00 a.m. for the weekend games. On the weekday games, these lots will open at 5:00 p.m. (#6 and #7) and 5:30 p.m. (#9). For Game 1 on Friday, June 3 at 1:00 p.m. these lots will not yet be open so please use Lot #1.
The shuttle service from the Colonial Life Arena lots will also still be in use for the Regional. Parking is free at the arena and the shuttle costs just $2 per person round trip. Shuttles will begin running from Colonial Life Arena two hours before each game time, so at 11:00 a.m. for the 1:00 p.m. games and at 5:00 p.m. for the 7:00 p.m. games.
ENTERING AND EXITING THE STADIUM/
GETTING READY FOR THE NEXT GAME
The box office and stadium gates will open 1.5 hours prior to the start of the game
Box Office/Gates Open:
11:30 a.m. for 1:00 p.m. games
5:30 p.m. for 7:00 p.m. games
Carolina Stadium will be cleared of fans at the end of each game. Fans with tickets for the second game of the day will need to exit the stadium after the first game and re-enter later with the appropriate ticket for the second game.
The ticket box office at Carolina Stadium will be open after all games to sell tickets for the next games. For example, after Carolina's game is over Friday night, fans will be able to go to the box office then to buy single game tickets for the appropriate game on Saturday (hopefully the Winner's game at 7:00!!)
TICKET AVAILABILITY
Single game tickets in the outfield bleachers and standing room only are available for all games, except Game 2 on Friday, June 3 (South Carolina vs. Georgia Southern) for which only standing room remain. As mentioned above, the Carolina Stadium ticket office will open 1.5 hours before each game and will also sell tickets for the subsequent games at the end of each game. Fans are encouraged to avoid the lines and purchase tickets online.
Please note that NCAA regulations state that every person must have a ticket to enter the stadium regardless of age.
TELEVISION/RADIO
There is no TV coverage for this NCAA Regional. However, we will live stream video of South Carolina's games on GamecocksOnline.com All-Access for free. Carolina's games will also be available as always via radio on the Gamecock IMG Sports Network. Click here for affiliates and check out the Scene Setter.
I know Gamecock fans know how to create a home-field advantage wherever they are, no matter what music is played, no matter who we're up against. I'm looking forward to an exciting weekend of tournament baseball and a great Gamecock crowd at Carolina Stadium!
Bookmark our 2011 NCAA Regional Tournament Central page for continuous updates on all the information you need for this weekend's games.
See y'all there! Go Gamecocks!!
-Brittany
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