Cool, calm, but not cocky

Dave Martin // The Post and Courier

OMAHA, Neb. -- For South Carolina fans riding into downtown on Interstate 480, a familiar face will greet you at the Leavenworth exit.

It's Gamecocks ace Michael Roth, one of the team's heroes from last year's College World Series run. He's on a billboard.

"Guys are giving me plenty of (stuff) for being plastered all over Omaha right now," said Roth, who will start USC's CWS opener tonight against Texas A&M. "It's pretty cool. I'm sure my parents are going to love it. I guess I'll take all the jabs from the guys."

Besides being ribbed, Roth's visual presence illustrates that things are different in 2011 for South Carolina than last summer.

The Gamecocks arrived at Rosenblatt Stadium as one of the bigger underdogs in the eight-team field. They proceeded to win six consecutive games after dropping the opener to claim the school's first men's national title.

And now? The Gamecocks are the No. 4 overall seed in the tournament, a 50-win team that some consider to be a legitimate favorite. They're one of two seeded teams on their side of the bracket, along with No. 1 Virginia.

The feeling is, they've got just as good of a chance as any team remaining.

"I think anybody can win this thing if you're still playing right now," USC coach Ray Tanner said.

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South Carolina is trying to become the sixth team in College World Series history to defend its championship. Oregon State did it most recently, in 2006 and 2007. LSU (1996, 1997) is the only SEC team to do it.

"We were fortunate to win a national title," Tanner said. "Could we do it again? How would it be? Who knows? But we're happy to be playing."

Roth admitted the idea of a repeat has come up with the players. But they quickly get humbled when reflecting on an additional piece of USC's history in Omaha.

"We've talked about it a little bit, but it's not the main thing on our minds," Roth said. "We just want to try and win that first game, which I don't think our program's ever done."

Well, it has. It's just been a while -- years before Roth and his teammates were born. As many traditions as the CWS has, USC owns one it would like to terminate.

The Gamecocks have lost seven consecutive CWS openers, going back to 1977.

"The years we haven't won that game, it's been by design," Tanner joked. "I try to forget about it, honestly."

South Carolina had not even scored in an opener since 1982 until Christian Walker's home run last year.

This year, South Carolina will send an All-American to the mound. Roth is 13-3 with a 1.02 ERA in his first year as a full-time starter.

"I've gotten the ball a lot of times this year in situations to break up traditions," he said. "Hopefully we can do it again."

Like last year, South Carolina will face a solid all-around team from the Big 12. Oklahoma split a pair of games with the Gamecocks in 2010. Texas A&M will pose a test this evening.

The Aggies (47-20) were forced to a deciding game in both the regional and super regional rounds, but survived.

"We played as many games as you can play in the postseason," Texas A&M coach Rob Childress said, "but found a way."

Sort of sounds like South Carolina's experience a year ago. But the Gamecocks, even if they're on billboards, are working to distance themselves from that.

"Last year was last year," sophomore closer Matt Price said. "It's a new year, and it's going to be a great one."