Virginia faces South Carolina in the Columbia Regional on Friday at noon, with ESPN2, thankfully, providing the TV broadcast coverage.
The matchup pits UVA ace Andrew Abbott (8-5, 2.63 ERA, 89.0 IP, 28 BB, 136 SO) against South Carolina righty Brett Kerry (5-1, 1.90 ERA, 52. IP, 9 BB, 83 SO).
The ‘Hoos will be making their 18th NCAA Tournament appearance, and first since 2017.
Virginia (29-23) has won seven of its last nine and has gone 18-9 since April 1.
South Carolina (33-20) has lost three of its last four and has gone 16-14 since April 1.
Virginia has won the last six games that Abbott has started, outscoring its opponents 56-5 in that stretch. The lefthander has not allowed an earned run in his last 30.1 innings pitched. His last earned run came against Duke on April 23.
Kerry got his first start of the 2021 season two weeks ago at Kentucky, striking out 10 in a 9-0 four-hit shutout back on May 15. He followed up his effort at UK with another stellar outing at Tennessee on May 21, getting the win against the Vols with seven innings of work in which he allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out eight.
The two programs have met three times in NCAA Tournament play, all won by South Carolina, including both games involving the two in the 2011 College World Series, in which the Gamecocks ended up winning its second national title.
Story by Chris Graham
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