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NCAA announces re-start time, TV change for Florida vs. South Carolina in Gainesville Super Regional

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•06/09/23•

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Tarp on the field during rain delay ahead of Gainesville Super Regional between Florida and South Carolina
Cyndi Chambers / USA TODAY NETWORK

The NCAA has announced a tentative re-start time and a television change for Friday’s game between Florida and South Carolina. First pitch has been delayed due to weather in the area.

Re-start time is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET, according to the NCAA, and the game will no longer be played on ESPN2. Instead, it will move over to ESPNU once the weather moves out.

Florida and South Carolina are set to meet after advancing from their respective NCAA Regionals at home last weekend. While the Gamecocks went 3-0 to sweep their regional, the Gators were forced to battle out of the loser’s bracket. They won three straight games after dropping the second contest of the regional to advance to the Supers.

This isn’t the first time Florida and South Carolina have played this year

The two teams previously met in the regular season in Columbia, S.C. South Carolina swept the series with none of the games particularly close as the Florida pitching staff had major control issues.

Florida won a share of the SEC regular-season title, earning the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and along with it the right to host a Gainesville Super Regional. South Carolina, on the other hand, lost 13 of 18 games leading into the NCAA Tournament.

However, the Gamecocks ended the skid by winning the Columbia Regional to set up Friday’s game against Florida. The biggest change, according to South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston, was his team getting its swagger back.

“I would like to think so,” Kingston said. “And maybe we always had it, but you have to be a little more reserved when things aren’t going your way. You have to kind of tone it down because nobody wants to look like they’re having too much fun when you’re not winning. That’s just how you handle yourself in baseball. But yeah, I think the guys have had fun. And I’ve challenged them to have more fun than any team that’s still playing for the rest of the season. Because the teams are having fun and are loose, tend to play better and come through in the end.”

James Hicks is getting the start on the mound for South Carolina, bringing an 8-1 record and a 3.32 ERA into the matchup. He’ll go up against Brandon Sproat. Sproat has a 4.70 ERA this season along with a 7-3 record for the Gators.