Many were surprised when Hall of Fame coach Paul Mainieri came out of retirement to become the next head baseball coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks. Returning to the SEC for the first time since 2021 after spending 15 years with LSU and leading the Tigers to a national championship.

In Columbia, South Carolina they’re hoping that Mainieri can bring the program similar success. Which never comes easy in the SEC and will only get more difficult next season with Texas and Oklahoma joining the conference.

At his introductory press conference, Mainieri was asked what he thinks the biggest barrier will be between the Gamecocks and championship success.

“Well I think the league is getting tougher every year, there’s a lot of great teams out there,” Mainieri said. “And let me tell you something, one year I went as a coach our team went, at LSU, our team went 13-17. We make the SEC Tournament, there was only eight teams that went that year. I think that was 2011.”

“Two years later we went 17-13. We were national seed. Four game difference, 36-21 year to 40-16 the next. Four game difference in conference, four game difference overall. Went from not making the tournament to national seed, so the difference is razor thin,” Mainieri explained.

There isn’t a coach in college baseball that can speak from experience more than Mainieri, who rejoins the game with 1,501 career wins and 39 years of head coaching experience. Also understanding that playing the best when it matters the most in college baseball over any metric.

“You win a few one run games and you’re having a good year. that’s the key. You gotta win the close ones,” Mainieri said. “And the only way to win the close ones is with clutch hitting, poise on the mound and on defense late in the game, and a belief that they’re that you’re going to finish the game off. That’s one of the things that quite frankly we’ve been proud about in our career, as we’ve won a lot of close games, and I think it’ll make the difference in the season.”

South Carolina is an NCAA Tournament regular, but have not been able to break through to the College World Series and SEC Championship heights they were able to achieve a little over a decade ago. But with Mainieri now at the helm for the Gamecocks, it will be fascinating to see if the program can return to those heights.

Updated June 16, 2024 at 19:31 PM ET

The 77th Tony Awards air Sunday night on CBS. Below is the full list of 2024 Tony Award nominees, with winners marked in bold.

Best Sound Design of a Play

• WINNER: Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic
• Justin Ellington and Stefania Bulbarella, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
• Leah Gelpe, Mary Jane
• Tom Gibbons, Grey House
• Bray Poor and Will Pickens, Appropriate

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

• WINNER: Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim, The Outsiders
• Brandon Stirling Baker, Illinoise
• Isabella Byrd, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
• Natasha Katz, Hell’s Kitchen
• Bradley King and David Bengali, Water for Elephants

Best Choreography

• WINNER: Justin Peck, Illinoise
• Annie-B Parson, Here Lies Love
• Camille A. Brown, Hell’s Kitchen
• Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, The Outsiders
• Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, Water for Elephants

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Best Orchestrations

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Best Costume Design of a Play

• WINNER: Dede Ayite, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
• Dede Ayite, Appropriate
• Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic
• Emilio Sosa, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
• David Zinn, An Enemy of the People

Best Book of a Musical

• WINNER: Shaina Taub, SuffsKristoffer Diaz, Hell’s Kitchen
• Bekah Brunstetter, The Notebook
• Adam Rapp and Justine Levine, The Outsiders
• Rick Elice, Water for Elephants

Best Musical

• Hell’s Kitchen
• Illinoise
• The Outsiders
• Suffs
• Water for Elephants

Best Revival of a Musical

Best Direction of a Musical

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

Best Play

• Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
• Mary Jane
• Mother Play
• Prayer for the French Republic
• Stereophonic

Best Revival of a Play

Best Direction of a Play

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

• Betsy Aidem, Prayer for the French Republic
• Jessica Lange, Mother Play
• Rachel McAdams, Mary Jane
• Sarah Paulson, Appropriate
• Amy Ryan, Doubt: A Parable

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

Best Original Score

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Best Scenic Design in a Play

Copyright 2024 NPR

One person was killed Thursday in a car crash on a Midlands road, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The collision happened at about 10 p.m. in Newberry County, said Lance Cpl. Brittany Glover.

A 2018 Chevrolet Impala was driving west on Bush River Road, and near the intersection with Kendall Road it hit a pedestrian who was walking west in the road, according to Glover.

The pedestrian died at the scene, Glover said.

The Newberry County Coroner’s Office has not publicly identified the pedestrian.

Glover said there were two people in the Chevy, but neither was hurt. No other injuries were reported.

There was no word if either the Chevy driver or passenger were wearing seat belts.

Glover did not say if the crash is being investigated by the Highway Patrol.

Through June 9, at least 399 people had died on South Carolina roads in 2024, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Last year, 1,030 people died in crashes in South Carolina, DPS reported.

At least eight people have died in Newberry County crashes in 2024, according to DPS data. There were nine deaths in the county in 2023, DPS reported.