By Will Vandervort.

By Will Vandervort

Clemson pitcher Daniel Gossett did not know what to expect when he took the mound in the winner’s bracket game against South Carolina in last year’s Columbia Regional. But, one thing was for sure, he wasn’t going to be intimidated.

Nothing seemed to bother the freshman from Lyman, SC as he pitched in perhaps the biggest game of his life to that point. He was in Columbia. He was pitching in front of 8,242 people that were mostly pulling against him and he was pitching against the two-time defending national champions, the Tigers most hated rivals – the South Carolina Gamecocks.

To top it off, he was countered on the mound by South Carolina’s Michael Roth. A guy whose reputation is known as the Clemson killer and whose stellar performances in big games propelled the Gamecocks to two national championships and eventually a third straight appearance in the College World Series Championship Series.

But Gossett wasn’t nervous. He opened the game by striking out Joey Pankake, who went down swinging. After allowing a base hit, he induced South Carolina’s two best hitters—Christian Walker and LB Dantzler—to pop up to second base and fly out to centerfield to end the inning.

“After that first inning at Carolina, I talked to Joseph Moorefield and he told me that was the hardest first pitch that you are ever going to make,” Gossett said. “So I kind of took that to heart, knowing that is one of the toughest games I’m going to pitch in.”

It was a game that Gossett shined in. He out pitched and out lasted Roth, going seven innings, allowing only two runs off four hits, while striking out eight batters. He left the game with a 3-2 lead as Roth walked four batters, gave up six hits and struck out only one in 6.1 innings of work.

The outing, as Gossett described it, was a big shot in the arm for his confidence.

“I can’t say that it hurt,” he said. “I was a freshman, everything was new and it was the regionals so it is a little bit of a confidence boost knowing I have done it before. Why can’t I do it again? It is a different attitude coming back this year. It’s not the freshman attitude, ‘Oh, how am I going to do this?’ Am I going to fit in?’

“Now I’m ready to compete. I know I can fit in. I know I can stay alive. Now I’m ready to compete and get things going.”

And now he is ready to be the starter on opening day. Clemson head coach Jack Leggett officially announced Tuesday the sophomore will get the ball first when the Tigers open the season on Friday against William & Mary at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

“It’s a huge honor,” Gossett said. “I’m trying not to think about it too deeply. It is just another game. If I let it get too deep inside my head, that’s when I become my own worst enemy. But, I’m very grateful for the opportunity.”

Gossett understands it is just that, an opportunity. Leggett has told all of his pitchers that the next couple of weeks are auditions to see who kind of separates themselves from the rest of the pack and becomes a regular weekend starter, whether that’s Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

“It is something I would love to keep doing,” Gossett said. “I’m going to have to work hard to maintain it. We have a bunch of good guys that are in the pen and can be starters as well.

“I know if I’m not doing my job and what the team needs to keep winning then I will be replaced pretty quick.”

Gossett closed last year as one of the team’s best pitchers, going 3-1 in his last six starts, including wins at Georgia Tech and against Florida State at home. Though he suffered a loss and two no decisions in his last three starts, he still did his part.

In his final three games against Wake Forest, Virginia and South Carolina, Gossett allowed five total runs, while striking out 21 batters. It was during that run that Gossett truly started to understand how the college game was and how he needed to approach every batter.

“You can’t give a college hitter too much credit,” he said. “I know it sounds weird or arrogant. As a pitcher you can’t be too perfect. You have your stuff and what makes you, you. You need to go up there and use it whenever you can. You can’t try and become something different just because you are facing a different hitter.

“As a pitcher, you have to be you. I feel like you can’t be up there throwing scared. It is going to affect you mechanics or your mindset. You have to be confident as a pitcher to throw the good stuff.”