Columbia holds parade to honor USC baseball title

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Fans of South Carolina’s baseball team ignored 95-degree heat to turn out for a parade to celebrate a second consecutive NCAA baseball championship.

The parade on Friday drew an estimated 45,000 people who lined Main Street in Columbia or who waved from balconies along the route as the team returned from Omaha, Neb.

Gov. Nikki Haley issued a proclamation declaring Friday as Gamecock Baseball Back-to-Back National Champions Day.

The team has already been honored with a party at Colonial Life Arena. Haley also had a Gamecocks flag flown atop the Statehouse dome the day after South Carolina clinched its second straight national title with a 5-2 win over Florida on Tuesday night.