Carolina would find nothing finer than to be in CWS

COLUMBIA, S.C. - It hasn&#39;t been Miami&#39;s kind of year, but it could be by the end of NCAA super regional this weekend. <br> <br> After stumbling through the regular season barely above .500, the defending College World Series champs are two wins away from their just-about-yearly spot in Omaha. The Hurricanes (33-27) open the best-of-3 series at South Carolina (51-15) Friday night with the same attitude that&#39;s gotten them to the CWS seven of the past eight years.<br> <br> South Carolina has no such edge. <br> <br> The Gamecocks have come close, but failed to get the CWS trip coach Ray Tanner has longed for. Two years ago, South Carolina was the tournament&#39;s top-seed and ahead in the series 1-0 with Louisiana-Lafayette. But the Ragin&#39; Cajuns rebounded with two straight victories - including a 3-2 squeaker in front of a sold-out Sarge Frye - and their first-ever College World Series. <br> <br> The Gamecocks returned to the super regional last spring and again lost a heartbreaking game 3, this time 3-2 to Stanford. <br> <br> For the third consecutive year, South Carolina is on the verge. <br> <br> ``Does it concern me, does it bother me, is it on my mind, certainly,&#39;&#39; Tanner said of falling short. ``Do I sit around and cry about it? No. We try and get better so we have an opportunity to get&#39;&#39; to the College World Series each year. <br> <br> Senior left fielder Garris Gonce says he and his teammates aren&#39;t awed by the Miami name or the championship past. ``They&#39;re obviously a talented team, but if we play our game we&#39;ll be fine,&#39;&#39; Gonce said. ``We have guys who when they step on the field, we have a chance to win every time.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Tanner sees Miami&#39;s tradition, reputation and players who excel no matter what&#39;s happened before. ``But we have guys with some swagger too,&#39;&#39; Tanner said.<br> <br> Right-hander Kiki Bengochea prayed hard the day of the NCAA tournament selections. At 30-26, his club looked as if it would miss the field of 64. ``Our biggest fear was we wouldn&#39;t get to defend our national championship,&#39;&#39; said Bengochea (6-6), who&#39;ll start game one. <br> <br> ``Once we got in, we&#39;re playing a lot more relaxed,&#39;&#39; he said. ``We&#39;re getting the timely hits we weren&#39;t getting like a totally different team.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Need proof? How about Miami&#39;s three-run, bottom-of-the-ninth rally to oust Florida in the regional Sunday. <br> <br> ``We&#39;ve had to come out like wounded dogs all year, fighting and biting,&#39;&#39; said Miami coach Jim Morris. <br> <br> Morris remembers the last time things weren&#39;t so easy. It was 2000 and his defending CWS champions lost the super regional to Florida State the only time the Hurricanes didn&#39;t reach Omaha in his eight previous seasons. ``It was a very tough year for me personally,&#39;&#39; Morris said. ``But this year, it&#39;s been much tougher.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> This year, Morris had to revive a team that had 13 players from a year ago pro contracts. The 25-year veteran had limited success and his team stood 25-26 on May 17. <br> <br> ``We were looking for something to happen all year and, to be honest with you, it didn&#39;t,&#39;&#39; Bengochea said. <br> <br> The postseason, though, is what Miami baseball is all about. Bengochea says the team breaks practice with the shout, ``Omaha,&#39;&#39; each day. Morris says when he first took the Miami job in 1994 he found fans booking blocks of Omaha hotels in January. <br> <br> ``I thought, &#39;Oh my goodness, what have I gotten myself into?&#39;&#39;&#39; Morris said. <br> <br> Right on schedule, Morris sensed things changing. <br> <br> ``Our players believe that their going to end up in Omaha, our fans believe we&#39;re going to end in Omaha and I think sometimes the other teams believe we&#39;re going to end up in Omaha,&#39;&#39; Morris said. ``There&#39;s no question that&#39;s an advantage for our team.&#39;&#39;