Gamecocks Take College World Series for Second Year in a Row

The 2011 College World Series barely changed from the one in 2010. The only difference between the brackets was that South Carolina lost once in 2010 before winning it all. Yet for this series, the Gamecocks didn't need to win four straight do-or-die games before stealing the national championship. This time, South Carolina was dominant from the start, which it proved Tuesday with its final win over Florida.

The Gators needed a win to force a winner-take-all Game 3, yet they had to be demoralized after a heartbreaking Game 1 loss Monday. Since South Carolina had been perfect in the NCAA tournament, and hadn't lost in the postseason since game 1 of last year's series, winning two straight over the Gamecocks would be a very hard task.

The Associated Press reports Florida couldn't even start a one-game winning streak while South Carolina made it look easy with a 5-2 victory. Although the Gamecocks needed extra innings and throwing errors to pull off their last two wins, they made things easier on themselves this time around.

A three-run third inning all but put it away early, and the dominant South Carolina pitching staff took it from there. As it turned out, Florida blew its best chance for its first national title Monday night; the rest was anticlimactic.

But although the Gators came up just short once again, they had a handy excuse. Florida can't be singled out for losing to South Carolina, since no one has beaten the Gamecocks at this time of year in a long time. With this final win, the two-time champions set records with a 16-game NCAA tournament winning streak and an 11-game College World Series winning streak.

Those achievements set the Gamecocks apart from the sport's last two-time champion. When Oregon State won it all in both 2006 and 2007, the Beavers had to overcome a loss or two along the way. South Carolina already made history by rallying from the elimination bracket in Omaha last year, but didn't have to bounce back from anything this time.

Since Oregon State repeated just a few years ago, it wasn't a rare thing for South Carolina to do the same. But three-peating is another matter, as no team has done that since USC won five titles in a row from 1970 to 1974. And even if the Gamecocks make another run in 2012, it would defy logic if they were perfect again.

But it might be a bigger shock if the next champion didn't come from the SEC. This year's series showed three SEC teams in the semifinals, and the conference claimed the national title for the third straight season. With the Gamecocks attempting to three-peat and the Gators and Vanderbilt Commodores looking for redemption, the rest of college baseball has a tough road ahead next year.

Sources

Yahoo Sports- "Gamecocks' run through CWS surprises Tanner"

NCAA.com- "NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Bracket"