Baseball teams from Clemson University and Coastal Carolina University will host regional action in the 2018 NCAA tournament, while the University of South Carolina will head to Greenville, North Carolina as it returns to postseason play following a one-year absence.
Clemson (45-14) – the No. 10 national seed – will host Morehead State (37-24) at Doug Kinsmore Stadium at 6:00 p.m. EDT on Friday. Meanwhile Vanderbilt (31-25) and No. 3 seed St. John’s (39-15) – both of whom played in the 2017 regional at Clemson – face off on Friday at noon in this double elimination tournament.
The regional marks Clemson’s 43rd NCAA Tournament appearance (fifth most in the nation) and the program’s 31st appearance in the last 32 years. Of course the Tigers haven’t advanced past the regional round since 2010 – meaning the pressure is on third-year head coach Monte Lee to get the program over the hump.
Clemson has never won a national title in baseball.
Coastal Carolina (42-17) – which won the College World Series (CWS) two years ago – is the No. 16 national seed this year. The Chanticleers will face LIU Brooklyn (31-24) on Friday, June 1, at 6:00 p.m. EDT. Also playing in the Coastal Carolina regional? The Huskies of UConn (35-20-1) and the Huskies of Washington (30-23).
The Chanticleers are appearing in their fourteenth NCAA tournament since 2001 (and fifteenth overall). They’ve advanced past the regional round three times – and won their only CWS appearance.
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[/timed-content-server]As for South Carolina, the Gamecocks (33-24) will head to Greenville under first-year head coach Mark Kingston for a 2:00 p.m. EDT tilt with Ohio State (36-22) on Friday. Regional host East Carolina (43-16) will do battle with UNC Wilmington (37-21) at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
After appearing in the NCAA tournament each year from 1999-2014 (including back-to-back national titles in 2010 and 2011), South Carolina failed to qualify for the postseason in two of the previous three seasons. That led to the resignation of former coach Chad Holbrook (who is now the head coach at the College of Charleston).
To view the entire interactive NCAA tournament bracket, click here …
The almighty Southeastern Conference (SEC) led the way with eleven teams in the postseason – including No. 1 overall seed Florida. The SEC was followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which placed six teams in the tourney.
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