COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Blake Schmit drove in three runs as Maryland beat South Carolina a second straight time, a 10-1 victory Sunday night to win the NCAA tournament’s Columbia regional.
The Terrapins (39-21) hadn’t been to the tournament since 1971. But they halted the Gamecocks’ 28-game NCAA tournament home win streak Saturday night before decisively closing out the regional at Carolina Stadium.
Maryland next faces the champion of the Charlottesville Regional in the best-of-three super regional series for a spot in the College World Series.
Schmit’s two-run single in the fourth put Maryland ahead for good, 2-1. Schmit added another RBI in a three-run ninth.
South Carolina (44-18) could not recover and failed to advance in home regional play for the first time since 1976. The Gamecocks had given up double-digit runs in a home regional just once before in a 12-1 loss to Furman 38 years ago.
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