Gamecock Fans Scramble for College World Series Tickets, Gear

The Gamecocks secured their ticket to defend their title at the College World Series in Omaha, Sunday night, by sweeping the Super Regionals with an 8-2 win over Connecticut.

But with the team’s first game set for Sunday, June 19 at 7 p.m. ET, Gamecock fans are scrambling to buy tickets and new gear.

After last year’s championship win, Columbia retailers saw a big boost in baseball shirt sales throughout the season.

Addam’s University Bookstore manager Ken Halstead attributed the spike in sales to the loyalty of Gamecock fans and their desire to have the latest merchandise. He said with each passing weekend demand increases, and he is expecting a new wave of eager buyers.

“With the Regionals that were in town we started to see a ground swell and then this past weekend, that was the first Super Regional we've ever had at our new stadium,” Halstead said. “So it really kicked off last weekend as everybody was sensing the fact that we were bound for Omaha again."

NCAA licensed shirts and ball caps will be hitting shelves Tuesday, with stores aiming to be fully stocked just as the team departs for Omaha on Thursday.

But the real big ticket items for fans devoted enough to trek to Nebraska are game tickets.

The Gamecock’s tenth CWS appearance is also the inaugural CWS for the new TD Ameritrade Park, which has 24,000 seats, 5,500 of which are general admission.

The general public can purchase tickets online with NCAA Fan2Fan, an authorized ticket exchange for season ticket holders to sell unwanted seats. Tickets for Sunday’s game are currently going for $79 to $250 on the site operated by Flash Seats.

Booklets of 10 general admissions tickets can still be purchased over the phone for $85, and can be used for any of the CWS games, including the finals. To purchase call (712) 326-2295 or (402) 341-1500.

A limited number of reserved tickets will be sold at the TD Ameritrade Park box office the day of each game, in addition to some single general admissions tickets.

Gamecock Club members can request tickets online before 8 p.m. Tuesday, which will sell for $28 a ticket for the first five games, and $33 for the best-of-three finals.

The USC athletics department is discussing the possibility of holding a send-off for the team before they embark on the 1,180-mile trip to Omaha.

Sunday’s game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.