Pitching, defense and overcoming adversity have been the key ingredients for Texas A&M and South Carolina making it to the College World Series.
It will take more of the same to keep advancing through the winners' bracket of the CWS, which begins at 6 p.m. on Sunday at the new TD Ameritrade Park.
For A&M (47-20), it will not only be the first time at the new $100 million stadium, built just down the road from Rosenblatt Stadium, but their first time at the CWS since 1999, when they lost their first two games.
South Carolina (50-14) comes in as the defending champion, having won it all after losing the first game -- the only team to do so since the CWS went to a best-of-3 format in 2003.
"You walk up and the wow factor just blows you away from the attention to detail, the clubhouse, locker rooms everything, it's all first class," Childress said. "As far as our team goes, just like every other team here, we hang our hat on pitching and defense."
A&M will start right-hander Ross Stripling, who won the first game of the super regional against Florida State and is 14-2 with a 2.29 ERA.
Stripling was moved up because Michael Wacha started three of the Aggies' last seven games, including Monday, when he threw nearly 130 pitches.
South Carolina will counter with left-hander Michael Roth, an SEC first-teamer with a 13-3 record and 1.02 ERA.
Pitching will also be key with Ameritrade being quite spacious, 335 feet down the lines, 375 to the power alleys and 408 to dead center.
Childress, who spent eight seasons as a pitching coach at Nebraska, about an hour down the road, said the stadium was built with the prevailing wind coming in.
Both ingredients had Texas coach Augie Garrido commenting that he gave Brandon Loy a trophy stand to hold the ball he hit out in batting practice.
Both teams have overcome key injuries to make it to the CWS, with A&M losing ace John Stilson, whose numbers were not unlike Roth's.
"It's really how we handle it over the course of the year," said Childress. "[Stilson] was the heartbeat of our team and obviously led us into each and every weekend."
Stripling and Tuesday's starter Michael Wacha are a combined 8-0 with a 2.13 ERA since Stilson last pitched, which was in the first game against Texas on May 19.
The Gamecocks have played without star center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. the last half of the season. He was playing with an injured wrist and eventually had to shut it down.
"We've had an unusual year with some injuries and playing a lot of different lineups, but the guys have responded," said South Carolina coach of 15 year Ray Tanner. "We pitched well and played enough defense to get us through a lot of games, which appears to be the trend right now in [the college] game."
Bradley was the 40th pick of the 2011 MLB Draft despite being injured at when the draft took place and was batting just .259.
Evan Marzilli moved from being a corner outfielder to take Bradley's place and is now nursing a hamstring.
Marzilli is expected to play, while Bradley is ready but there was no indication one way or the other that Miller would start Bradley.
NOTES -- Two college baseball polls that last updated before the postseason began, had their top five teams make the CWS. In one poll all but Cal were in the top 10 and in another, North Carolina was No. 13 and Cal was unranked. ... The winner's of each four-team double-elimination bracket will play a best-of-3 starting on June 27. Since the present format began, only South Carolina, last season, lost it's first game and went on to win the title. ... Tyler Naquin and Michael Wacha will be back at TD Ameritrade Park in early July playing for Team USA against Japan.
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