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CLEMSON -- Clemson will host in-state rival South Carolina tonight in one of college baseball’s most compelling rivalries.
“I think it’s the best rivalry in all of college baseball,” said Clemson coach Monte Lee.
The rivalry between these two powerhouses dates back to 1899, with Clemson leading the series 178-138-2 overall.
“It’s like a Super Regional environment,” said Lee. “You’re not going to be able to put your guys in a more competitive, electric environment and crowd than you do this weekend. So, for all of our first-year guys that are going to get a chance to play in it: Embrace it, because this is as good as it gets and this is as intense as it gets.”
No. 14 Clemson has won five games in a row and is coming off a dominant offensive performance on Tuesday night, when it trounced ETSU 14-3 to improve to 7-1.
Sophomore centerfielder Bryce Teodosio is hitting .393 and leads the Tigers with three home runs, 11 RBIs, and four stolen bases. Third baseman Sam Hall is batting .286 in the leadoff spot with two homers, eight RBIs, six steals, and a team-high 11 runs scored. Junior shortstop Logan Davidson is batting .269 with two home runs, nine RBIs, and six stolen bases.
The Tigers have 22 stolen bases through seven games this season.
“Offensively, we just need to do what we do,” said Lee. “We’re going to run if we get opportunities to run, and hopefully we’re going to drive the baseball as well.”
South Carolina also boasts a 7-1 record and is riding a seven-game winning streak into this weekend after defeating Appalachian State 3-1 on Tuesday.
The Gamecocks are led on offense by Jacob Olsen, who is batting .379 with four homers and nine RBIs, and Luke Berryhill, who is batting .357 with two homers and 11 RBIs.
“They hit the ball extremely hard,” said Lee. “If we make mistakes up in the zone, they’re going to run it out of the yard – that’s the bottom line. We have got to be able to catch and throw the baseball behind our pitching staff, which means that we have to be able to locate pitches down in the zone and force them to hit the ball on the ground and weak fly balls in the air.”
Both teams have had no trouble knocking the ball out of the park this season. Clemson and South Carolina enter this weekend tied for second in the country with 17 home runs, only one behind New Mexico State.
“It’s going to be fun to see who takes the lead,” said Davidson. “I have a feeling that there’s going to be a lot of bombs this weekend.”
The three-game series will once again take place in three different stadiums, starting with tonight's 6 p.m. matchup in Clemson. On Saturday afternoon, the two teams will play at Fluor Field in Greenville before heading to Columbia for the series finale on Sunday.
Said Lee: “It’s certainly unique. I don’t know anybody else that does that. I think it makes it really cool.”
“It’s challenging because you have to play in three different ballparks in three different days,” Lee added. “Each ballpark is a little bit different. The crowds are pretty dang good in all three ballparks. Obviously, when you play here in Clemson there’s a lot of purple and orange here in the seats, and then when you go to Greenville or the neutral site, it’s pretty split right down the middle, and there’s going to be an awful lot of garnet and black there in Game 3. It’s what it’s all about. I think it’s very unique and it’s a lot of fun.”
Clemson’s Brooks Crawford (0-0, 3.60 ERA) will square off against South Carolina’s Carmen Mlodzinski (0-0, 4.32 ERA) in Friday night’s series opener at 6 p.m.
“I’m looking forward to taking the ball here at home,” said Crawford. “Last year I enjoyed pitching in Greenville - it’s still an intense environment. I’m looking forward to throwing on Friday in front of our home crowd and getting them into it.”
Crawford has pitched against South Carolina before, but this will be his first time starting against the Gamecocks at home. Last year, the right-hander allowed just one run and three hits over 4 2/3 innings against South Carolina in a 5-1 victory at Fluor Field. Crawford also made relief appearances against South Carolina in 2016 and 2017, appearing in three games and striking out three batters over 4.1 scoreless innings combined.
Said Crawford: “Pitching in it each year, you kind of get used to how their fans are and how our fans are. It’s almost like a regional game, the fans are so into it. It’s intense, but it’s still a lot of fun.”
Saturday’s neutral-site matchup will feature two freshman starting pitchers in Clemson’s Davis Sharpe (2-0, 0.00 ERA) and South Carolina’s Dylan Harley (0-0, 9.45 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Sharpe has dominated both at the plate and on the mound so far this season. The freshman is batting .381 with two home runs, and has struck out a team-high 19 batters over 11 scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and four walks.
“Ever since I’ve been committed I’ve come up to these games,” said Sharpe. “I know what it’s all about. I know all the hype that surrounds it and I’m excited to finally be a part of it.”
The series will conclude on Sunday with a noon matinee at the Gamecocks’ Founders Park, with Clemson freshman Justin Wrobleski (0-1, 6.75 ERA) slated to toe the rubber against South Carolina’s Reid Morgan (1-0, 1.29 ERA).
Said Lee: “We’re facing a guy on Friday night that’s been up to 94, 95 mph, so he’s got a very good arm. They have a very good freshman on Saturday in Harley that’s been up to 94, 95. And then they have a guy on Sunday that’s a junior college transfer that really sinks it in the low 90’s.”
The Gamecocks have been able to rely on several bullpen arms to shut down opponents this season. Brett Kerry has collected 11 strikeouts over 6.0 scoreless innings, and Parker Coyne has 10 strikeouts over 4.2 scoreless innings. Freshman right-hander Wesley Sweatt has allowed just one hit over 5.0 scoreless innings.
“Their bullpen is very good, too,” said Lee. “The bottom line is that it’s going to boil down to who makes the least amount of mistakes and do we do a good job of locating and executing pitches.”
Clemson closer Carson Spiers has picked up three saves in three appearances, striking out six batters while allowing just one hit and one unearned run in 4.1 innings. Sophomore lefty Sam Weatherly has nine strikeouts in total over 4.0 innings, allowing one unearned run, zero hits, and six walks.
Lee said that his favorite memory from the rivalry so far is Drew Wharton’s walk-off triple for the Tigers at home last year.
“Watching Robert Jolly’s little legs, he looked like Bam Bam from the Flinstones running around the bases,” joked Lee. “If you watch the video it’s pretty funny; I think he took 250 steps between second and third.”
Clemson has won the series every year since the Gamecocks swept the Tigers in 2013. Last season, Clemson rallied to win the final two games after losing the opener in Columbia.
The Tigers will be looking to extend their winning-streak over South Carolina this weekend, but will need to stay remain focused and composed during such an intense rivalry.
“The games are so competitive that you don’t feel like you’re out of it. You saw the game last year when we won the series here," said Lee. “I think we were up 6-0 at one point, and they stormed back and tied the ballgame. We had our best guy in there, Ryley (Gilliam), and they found a way to tie the ballgame and we won it in extras.”
Seth Beer's home run sparked a comeback victory at Founders Park in 2017, and Alex Eubanks' 7 2/3-inning and eight-strikeout performance for the Tigers in a 4-1 win at home in 2015 are two other moments that Lee remembers fondly.
“We’re not going to be treating it any differently than any other series,” said Lee. “I think the crowd alone and the history of the rivalry is going to be enough for our guys to be ready. We’re not going to have to talk about it a lot this week. There’s not going to be any motivational speeches or anything like that because I’m not going to have to do that. Our guys will be ready to go.”
Lee compared the Palmetto Series rivalry to one of the MLB’s biggest rivalries: Yankees-Red Sox.
“Clemson and the University of South Carolina are the Red Sox and the Yankees of the state of South Carolina, that’s just the way it is. We’re not a professional sports state. We are a college athletics state. The people of this state are on one side of the fence or the other. That’s what makes this rivalry so great. Everybody across the state is pulling for one of us, so it’s very intense, it’s very heated, and it’s also a lot of fun to be a part of.”
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