COLUMBIA – There's no mercy rule in the NCAA Tournament.
Maybe there should be.
It was the most runs by the Gameco*cks in an NCAA Tournament game since 23 against Rhode Island in 2016.
South Carolina baseball scored 11 times in the bottom of the fourth inning Friday night to go up by 16 and was not even halfway through a demolition of Central Connecticut State, 19-1, in the opening round of the Columbia Regional at Founders Park.
South Carolina (40-19) will play a winners bracket game Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN+) against NC State (36-19), which beat Campbell, 5-1. Central Connecticut State (36-13) and Campbell (44-14) will play a noon elimination game.
The Gameco*cks sent 17 batters to the plate in the fourth. Michael Braswell was 2-for-2 in the inning.
Ethan Petry hit his 23rd home run for South Carolina. Gavin Casas was 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored. The Gameco*cks finished with 16 hits and 14 walks.
South Carolina played host to a Regional in 2021 but lost out to Virginia. The Gameco*cks didn’t make the NCAA Tournament last season. They won national championships in 2010 and 2011.
Will McGillis made triumphant return to lineup
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South Carolina fifth-year player Will McGillis, whose career seemed in jeopardy because of a broken arm, returned to the lineup for just the second time since March.
McGillis batted leadoff as the designated hitter and went 2-for-2 with a homer and a walk in his first three times up.
He missed all of April and had a couple of pinch-hit appearances in the middle of May, started in left field on May 16, but had not appeared in a game since.
McGillis in 77 at-bats had 10 home runs and 22 RBIs. He is a transfer from Southern Miss and helped the Golden Eagles reach the super regional round last year.
South Carolina pitcher James Hicks just keeps winning
Gameco*cks junior right-hander James Hicks was making just his fifth start of the season, including a mid-week game as a one-inning opener.
In three innings, Hicks (8-1) had already matched a season-high of six strikeouts, including his last start, 6.2 shutout innings against Georgia in the SEC Tournament.In this one, he went five innings and allowed just one hit.
