Hundreds of ‘Proud’ Gamecock Fans Welcome the Baseball Team Home.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — When the bus carrying the USC baseball team pulled up to Carolina Stadium Tuesday afternoon hundreds of fans were there waiting. “We are in aww of them and all they’ve accomplished and all they’ve done for Gameock sports,” says Lauren Metts, Gamecock fan. Some of these fans were here to send the team to Omaha nearly two weeks ago. “My prayer was that they would put the fish tale on it and nobody could hit it,” says Jerry Thompson, a Volunteer Chaplain and avid Gamecock fan. Unfortunately that did not happen, instead the Gamecocks fell to Arizona in the second game of a best of three series, ending their hopes of a 3-peat. “We’ll be back, we’ll be back, we ain’t going nowhere, we are college baseball,” says Thompson. So when the team got off the bus Tuesday without the National Championship trophy these fans were not diappointed. “No, not at all, I think they did the best they could,” says Tracie Rogers, Gamecock fan. “I told our guys last night, as disappointed as we were, we were not disappointed in them, give these guys a round of applause,” says Coach Ray Tanner, USC Baseball Head Coach. For some of these players, they’ve played their last game in the Carolina uniform. “Once a Gamecock always a Gamecock,” says Michael Roth, USC Pitcher. For others, it’s only just beginning. “Last night, when I saw Pankake in the dug out I saw his passion that’s the future of this baseball program,” says Thompson. “We won it a couple of years ago, we won it last year and we came close last night and tomorrow we will begin our quest to do it again,” says Coach Tanner. A bright future for the little guys who sport hats with autographs and those with dreams of playing for Carolina themselves one day. “We don’t have a season, we have a tradition so our season has ended, but our tradition is going to go on and on and on,” says Thompson.