Scouting South Carolina baseball's path in SEC Tournament, what's at stake for Gamecocks

After four straight SEC series losses to end the regular season, South Carolina baseball aims to regain some momentum at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.

The No. 9 Gamecocks (38-17, 16-13 SEC) are the 6-seed and open the conference tournament against 11-seed Georgia (29-26, 11-19) on Tuesday (10:30 a.m., SEC Network). The first round, semifinals and championship are single elimination games, with the rest of the tournament played in a double-elimination format.

South Carolina has historically struggled in the SEC Tournament with a 28-46 record all-time. The program has won the tournament just once in 2004, making early exits in both 2010 and 2011 when it went on to win the College World Series.

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First round vs. Georgia

The Gamecocks last faced Georgia for their first SEC series of the season in Athens. They swept the Bulldogs, including two run-rule wins in seven innings. However, as South Carolina has struggled at the end of the season, Georgia has improved, picking up 2-1 series wins over No. 19 Tennessee and No. 20 Kentucky and sweeping T-No. 2 Arkansas.

The Bulldogs are led by star freshman Charlie Condon, who ranks No. 3 in the conference with a .393 batting average. He is one of three players in the SEC with a slugging percentage above .800 and ranks second in home runs with 24. Redshirt senior Connor Tate isn't far behind with a .384 batting average, 54 RBIs and 16 homers. Georgia's biggest weakness is its pitching: None of its starters have an ERA below 5.00, and ace Liam Sullivan has given up five or more hits in seven of his 10 SEC starts.

Easiest and hardest paths

As the 6-seed, South Carolina's path to the SEC title is a difficult one. If the Gamecocks beat Georgia, they will face 3-seed LSU — the No. 4 team in the country. South Carolina split its series with the Tigers in the regular season and likely wouldn't face SEC pitcher of the year Paul Skenes on Wednesday. A win over LSU would put South Carolina in strong position to reach the quarterfinals under the double-elimination format.

The worst-case scenario for the Gamecocks is a meeting with Tennessee in the loser's bracket Thursday. The Vols also have something to prove and just beat South Carolina 2-1 in the final regular season series. If both teams lose their second-round games, a rematch would likely mean elimination for the Gamecocks. However, the likely alternative to Tennessee is Arkansas, which also beat South Carolina 2-1 this year and won the tournament in 2021.

What Gamecocks need to do to host

With five SEC teams ranked in the top 10 nationally, South Carolina isn't likely to leave as a champion. The Gamecocks' biggest goal is to prove they deserves to host an NCAA Tournament regional after ending the regular season in a disastrous slump.

Reaching the conference championship game would cement their status, but even a berth in the semifinals or quarterfinals should be enough to keep the Gamecocks in the top 16. What South Carolina needs to avoid is an early exit, especially against one of the unranked teams in the bracket. After losses to North Florida, Charlotte and Auburn in the last month, South Carolina needs to prove it can compete with the upper echelon of the conference.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SEC Baseball Tournament: What's at stake for South Carolina baseball