The University of South Carolina Gamecocks men's baseball team continue defense of their 2010 NCAA Men's Baseball National Championship when they play No. 1 seeds Virginia Cavaliers in a winners bracket game Tuesday (7:05 pm ET) at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.
Both squads advanced to to the winners bracket following Sunday's wins. The Gamecocks defeated Texas A&M and Virginia topped California.
Oddsmakers at most offshore sports shops list the Cavaliers as -145 CWS Odds favorites for the game with a combined (over/under) total of 8 1/2-runs. South Carolina backers will be getting +115 odds as moneyline underdogs.
Sophomore right-hander Colby Holmes (7-3, 3.78 ERA) gets the start for South Carolina with Virginia countering with junior right-hander Will Roberts (11-1, 1.58 ERA). Holmes has allowed 72 hits in 81 innings pitched and hs 70 strikeouts to just 20 walks with opponents hitting only .232 against him. Holmes has made two starts this postseason for the Gamecocks with a win against Stetson in the NCAA Regional and a no-decision in a victory vs. Connecticut in the NCAA Super Regional. Holmes hurled 11 innings in the previous two outings with five strikeouts and a walk with 12 hits allowed.
Roberts, a 6-4, 205-pound junior right-hander from Richmond, was named to the NCBWA second team as a starting pitcher. He is 11-1 with a 1.57 ERA and was a fifth-round draft choice of the Cleveland Indians last week.
2011 College World Series championship odds
Virginia +275
Vanderbilt +350
Florida +325
North Carolina +600
California +1200
South Carolina +500
Texas +650 (eliminated)
Texas A&M +900 (eliminated)
