No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 2 South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., Noon, ESPN2
The Cavaliers, the No. 3 seed in the Columbia, S.C., Regional, face No. 2 seed South Carolina on the Gamecocks' home field. That doesn't seem fair since they did not earn the No. 1 seed, but that's how it shook out, because Old Dominion, the No. 1 seed, did not put in a bid to host a regional because presumably the Monarchs' facilities aren't of a high enough quality to host an NCAA regional. Interestingly, the last time ODU made the NCAA tournament was in 2014, and it played in the Columbia, S.C., Regional.
The ACC put seven other teams in the NCAA tournament: Notre Dame, a No. 1 seed, No. 2 seeds Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, and N.C. State, and No. 3 seeds Florida State and North Carolina.
Joining Old Dominion, South Carolina, and Virginia in Columbia is Jacksonville, which has the worst record of any team in the tournament field of 64. The Dolphins actually had the worst league record of any team in the Atlantic Sun Conference (Liberty's conference) but made it through that league's tournament to claim the automatic bid, beating Liberty twice along the way, including in the final. But the Flames did earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Norfolk State and VCU are the other teams from the state of Virginia to make the tournament.
Here's a closer look at the teams in the Columbia, S.C., Regional.
No. 1 seed Old Dominion
National seed: No. 11
Record: 42-14, 22-10 Conference USA, 4-0 in C-USA tournament, won title
Streak: Seven wins
Last 10 games: 9-1
Team batting average: .311
BA leaders: Carter Trice (.359), Tommy Bell (.354), Andy Garriola (.339)
RBI leaders: Garriola (72), Kyle Battle (59), Trice (53), Bell (47)
HR leaders: Battle (18), Garriola (14), Trice (13)
SB leaders: Thomas Wheeler (14), Trice (7), Battle (6)
Team ERA: 4.31
Top starter: Hunter Gregory (8-2, 2.84)
Common opponents with UVa: ODU went a combined 3-1 against William & Mary (1-0), VCU (1-1), Richmond (1-0). Virginia went 2-2 against those teams -- W&M (1-0), VCU (0-2), Richmond (1-0).
Note: UVa and ODU were scheduled to play in Charlottesville on April 14, but the game was canceled because of inclement weather.
No. 2 seed South Carolina
Record: 33-21, 16-14 SEC, 0-1 in SEC tournament
Streak: Two losses
Last 10 games: 6-4
Team batting average: .250
BA leaders: Andrew Eyster (.287), Brady Allen (.284), Josiah Sightler (.281)
RBI leaders: Wes Clarke (53), Eyster and Allen (42)
HR leaders: Clarke (22), Allen (13), Eyster and Braylen Wimmer (11)
SB leaders: Allen (12), George Callil (6), Wimmer (5)
Team ERA: 3.85
Top starter: Will Sanders (6-3, 3.63)
Today's probable starter vs. UVa: Brett Kerry (5-1, 1.90, nine walks, 83 strikeouts); he's made 16 appearances but only two starts. He has four saves.
Common opponents with UVa: South Carolina went a combined 2-2 against Clemson (2-1) and North Carolina (0-1). Virginia went 3-3 against those teams -- Clemson (2-1), North Carolina (1-2).
No. 3 seed Virginia
Record: 29-23, 18-18 ACC, 2-1 in ACC tournament
Streak: One loss
Last 10 games: 7-3
Team batting average: .261
BA leaders: Kyle Teel (.311), Zack Gelof (.294), Devin Ortiz (.283)
RBI leaders: Nic Kent (40), Gelof (36), Teel (33)
HR leaders: Teel (8), Gelof and Kent (7)
SB leaders: Kent (11), Gelof (10), Marc Lebreux (5)
Team ERA: 3.66
Top starter: Andrew Abbott (8-5, 2.63, 28 walks, 136 strikeouts), who is expected to start today.
Other primary starters: Mike Vasil (7-5, 4.40), Nate Savino (2-3, 3.94), and Zach Messinger (3-1, 4.41).
No. 4 seed Jacksonville
Record: 16-32, 3-15 Atlantic Sun Conference, 5-1 in Atlantic Sun tournament, won title
Streak: Four wins
Last 10 games: 6-4
Team batting average: .262
BA leaders: Mike Cassala (.338), Ruben Someillan (.303), Dakota Julylia (.301)
RBI leaders: Christian Coipel (31), Jesus Pacheco (23), Cory Heffron (21)
HR leaders: Coipel (7), Heffron and Kyle Richardson (3)
SB leaders: Heffron (7), Blake DeLamielleure (6), Pacheco (5)
Team ERA: 6.29
Top starter: Tyler Santana (5-7, 4.68)
Common opponents with UVa: Despite the poor record, Jacksonville has some interesting wins. The Dolphins went a combined 3-1 against Pittsburgh (0-1), Florida State (1-0), and Liberty (2-0). Virginia went 3-5 against those teams -- Pitt (1-2), FSU (1-2), Liberty (1-1).
Notable: Jacksonville also beat No. 15 national seed Florida once (1-3 vs. Gators overall) and swept Wofford, which missed the NCAA tournament but finished the season at 36-21.
Old Dominion and Jacksonville face each other today at 7 p.m. That game is available on ESPN3 via WatchESPN online or on the app. If Virginia beats South Carolina, it will play the winner of the Monarchs-Dolphins matchup at 7 p.m. Saturday. The losers meet Saturday at noon in an elimination game.
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