Why South Carolina baseball will – and won't – win Raleigh NCAA Regional

COLUMBIA — South Carolina baseball shifts focus from a 10th-inning loss to LSU in the SEC semifinals to the NCAA Regional tournament.

The Gamecocks (36-23) are heading to Raleigh, part of NC State's regional, with James Madison and Bryant. South Carolina is the No. 2 seed, playing the No. 3 seed Dukes (34-23) on Friday (2 p.m., ESPN+). The Bulldogs are the No. 4 seed, facing host and No. 1 seed NC State on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN+).

South Carolina last faced James Madison in the NCAA tournament in 2008, when the Gamecocks won 7-5. JMU hasn't been in an NCAA regional since 2011. The Gamecocks lost in the NCAA Super Regional in Florida last year. The Dukes lost to Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Saturday.

South Carolina has never played Bryant before but is 23-35 against NC State and 9-1 against JMU.

Here is what to know about the regional:

South Carolina's strength of schedule

Eleven SEC teams are in the NCAA tournament. JMU played 10 teams this season who made the NCAA tournament. Meanwhile South Carolina played 32. According to D1 Baseball, South Carolina is eighth overall in strength of schedule, and JMU is 41th.

Of the 16 NCAA regional host teams, the Gamecocks have already played seven of them.

Bryant ranks 270 in strength of schedule. NC State has the third best. Everything is pointing to an ACC-SEC matchup on Saturday and probably a rematch for the championship.

South Carolina baseball's fatigue, Gavin Casas injury

After playing five days in a row, the Gamecocks can get some needed rest but could be without third baseman Gavin Casas.

Casas injured his hand in the fifth inning on Friday against Kentucky and did not play Saturday against LSU. Coach Mark Kingston said Monday that things weren't looking great, but they "(will) exhaust all avenues and see if there’s a chance.”

Before the injury, Casas launched a 429-foot home run for his 10th of the season. Casas was at the selection show Monday with some type of cast on his right hand.

The Gamecocks used 15 different pitchers in the SEC tournament and by Saturday, fatigue was obvious. Over the five games, South Carolina made 12 total errors, tying the tournament record.

"There is a fine line ... we are going to work on (fixing errors) enough to feel as though we are sharp but we aren't going to do it enough to where guys are worn out," Kingston said. "I am very cognizant of the fact I want our guys to be sharp but we don't want to work so hard over the next three days where we forget that we just emptied the tank at the SEC tournament."

SCHEDULE:NCAA Baseball tournament: Raleigh Regional schedule, bracket, TV info for South Carolina baseball

NC State vs South Carolina

If the Gamecocks defeat JMU, the road to a super regional could be a familiar one.

Last year, South Carolina beat NC State 6-3 in the Columbia regional. Now, roles are reversed as the Wolfpack (33-20) are the No. 10 overall seed in the 2024 tournament, hosting the Gamecock

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin