Palmetto State Baseball team of the week, May 29-June 4: South Carolina

South Carolina (3-0 for the week)

(beat Central Connecticut State, N.C. State and Campbell to win the Columbia Regional)

I didn't see this one coming.

The Gamecocks limped - sometimes literally - down the stretch of the regular season when a perfect storm of injuries, offensive struggles and inconsistent pitching led to a drop from sure Top 8 seed to a regional host status that lots of folks suspected wasn't merited.

Count me among the skeptics.

But Carolina coach Mark Kingston didn't push the panic button, though, insisting that the team could return to form as more players got healthy.

Indeed, USC looked more like the juggernaut it was the first two-thirds of the season as it rolled through the home regional.

Not only did Carolina regain its hitting stroke, Gamecocks pitchers cut down on free passes, walking  three while striking out 33.

Up next for the Gamecocks: at Florida, NCAA super regional.

Also considered
Coastal Carolina (3-1) - won twice Sunday to reach regional title game
North Greenville (1-0) - late rally to win Division II World Series opener.

Previous winners
Jan. 23-29: Spartanburg Methodist
Jan. 30-Feb. 5: Limestone
Feb. 6-12: North Greenville
Feb. 13-19: Florence-Darlington Tech
Feb. 20-26: Southern Wesleyan
Feb. 27-March 5: Wofford
March 6-12: USC Aiken
March 13-19: South Carolina
March 20-26: North Greenville
March 27-April 2: Coastal Carolina
April 3-9: USC Upstate
April 10-16: USC Union
April 17-23: South Carolina
April 24-30: (tie) Bob Jones, Voorhees
May 1-7: Clemson
May 8-14: Clemson
May 15-21: Coastal Carolina
May 22-28: Clemson