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USC baseball off to historically strong start. How does it compare to other Gamecocks teams?

With a 13-2 win over The Citadel on Tuesday night, the No. 9 South Carolina baseball team secured its best start to a season since 1975.

The Gamecocks (24-2, 6-0 SEC) have rolled through the first third of the season, with Mark Kingston’s team bouncing back in big way from last year’s injury-ravaged season — the team’s first losing season since 1996.

USC isn’t just squeaking by, either. With several transfer additions, the team’s offense has been one of the nation’s best through the early portion of the season, ranking first in the nation in homers (66), third in runs and sixth in slugging percentage (.588).

The team’s pitching staff, finally healthy after last year’s issues, is keeping opponents off the scoreboard, ranking fourth nationally with a 2.81 team ERA.

There’s still plenty of season remaining, with high-powered SEC series still to play against the likes of LSU, Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Tennessee.

But historically, USC’s sizzling start through 26 games bodes well for the Gamecocks come postseason time. The 24-2 start matches Bobby Richardson’s 1975 team and is better than any start for Ray Tanner’s teams — even better than the back-to-back College World Series title years in 2010 and 2011.

With the Gamecocks gearing up for a Thursday-Saturday series at Mississippi State, here’s a snapshot of other USC teams in program history with similar starts and a look at where they finished by season’s end.

Bobby Richardson Era

A Sumter native and a former New York Yankees great, Richardson started coaching the Gamecocks in 1970 after a sterling MLB career. He gradually built up the program through his first three seasons before breaking the school record with 48 wins in 1974 and leading USC to its first NCAA tournament.

Richardson’s team started off 23-3 in that 1974 season. One year later, the Gamecocks started off 24-2 — matching the current USC record.

In that 1975 season, the Gamecocks once again shattered the program record for wins, winning 51 games, and the Gamecocks also reached Omaha and the College World Series for the first time, finishing as the CWS runner-up to Texas.

June Raines Era

Raines took over from Richardson in 1977, leading the Gamecocks to a 763-380-2 record through the 1996 season. Raines’ tenure was on the most successful stretches in USC history, with the Gamecocks making four trips to Omaha and 11 NCAA tournament appearances.

So it isn’t a surprise that Raines’ teams got off to several similar scorching starts as the current Gamecocks. USC started of 21-5 in six different seasons under Raines: 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1987 and 1991.

The Gamecocks made the NCAA tournament in three of those seasons and reached the CWS in 1982.

Ray Tanner Era

Tanner, now USC’s athletic director, needs no introduction. The team’s head coach from 1997-2012, Tanner amassed a 734-313 record and famously led the Gamecocks to consecutive national titles in 2010-11.

When Tanner’s teams got off to hot starts, they generally carried the momentum through to the end of the year. When the Gamecocks started off 23-3 in 2000, they reached a super regional and set the program record for wins with 56.

Tanner’s squad broke the record again two seasons later, winning 57 games in 2002 and making Tanner’s first Omaha trip after opening the season 21-5. That 21-5 mark would prove to carry some Omaha magic, as USC started 21-5 in both 2010 and 2011 before going on to win the CWS title.

Chad Holbrook Era

Tanner’s former recruiting coordinator, Holbrook’s run at USC (2013-17) was shorter lived than his predecessor’s. But his teams did have some high-water moments.

In 2014, Holbrook’s Gamecocks got off to a 23-3 start and finished the year 44-18. USC hosted a regional that year but was eliminated by Maryland.

In 2016, USC once again got off to a 23-3 start and went on to reach its second super regional under Holbrook, but the Gamecocks lost both super regional games they played against Oklahoma State.

South Carolina baseball schedule this week

Thursday: at Mississippi State, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)

Friday: at Mississippi State, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

Saturday: at Mississippi State, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)