The Clemson Insider

By Trey McCurry.

Trey McCurry

Clemson (5-2) faces archrival #7 South Carolina (6-1) in a three-game series this weekend. Friday’s game will take place at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson with first pitch slated for 6:30PM. Saturday’s contest takes place at Fluor Field in Greenville at 2:00PM with South Carolina as the designated home team. The series finale on Sunday is at 3:00PM at Carolina Stadium in Columbia.

The Series

Clemson and South Carolina have met 300 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 169-129-2 lead in the series. The 300 meetings with the Gamecocks are the most by Clemson against any opponent. The first meeting took place in 1899 and the rivals have met every year but one (1984) since 1945. Last season the teams met five times with South Carolina winning four of the matchups. In the regular season, the Gamecocks won 3-2 (11 innings) in Charleston and 9-6 in Columbia before Clemson won 6-5 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Then, in the Columbia Regional, South Carolina won 5-4 in 12 innings and 4-3.

Clemson leads the series 96-42 in games at Clemson, including a 49-25 mark at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Gamecocks lead the series 8-7 at neutral sites, including a 2-0 mark at Fluor Field. South Carolina also leads 79-66-2 in games in Columbia with a 5-2 advantage at Carolina Stadium. Jack Leggett is 37-46 all-time against the Gamecocks (34-38 at Clemson and 3-8 at Western Carolina). Leggett leads 18-13 in games at Doug Kingsmore Stadium while trailing in games at neutral sites (0-7) and games in Columbia (16-18).

The Gamecocks

South Carolina, led by first-year Chad Holbrook, is a member of the Southeastern Conference. The Gamecocks are 6-1 on the season and are coming off a 5-2 win over Furman on Tuesday. South Carolina is ranked in the top-10 in all three major polls, coming in at #7 in the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls and #8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Gamecocks were picked by SEC coaches to finish third in the seven-team Eastern Division of the conference in 2013. South Carolina is coming off a 49-20 (18-11) season in 2012 that saw them play in their third straight College World Series Championship Series.

The Gamecocks are hitting .288 as a team in 2013 with 12 doubles, two triples, four homers, eight stolen bases (in 10 chances), 39 walks, seven hit-by-pitches, and 41 strikeouts while averaging 6.7 runs per game. South Carolina’s pitching staff has a 2.51 ERA this season, allowing 47 hits (.209 opponents’ batting average) and 20 walks against 57 strikeouts in 61.0 innings.

The Tigers

Clemson enters the weekend 5-2 after dropping a 3-2, 11-inning contest to Winthrop on Wednesday. The Tigers were picked to finish third in the Atlantic Division in 2013 by ACC coaches and is coming off a 35-28 (16-14) season in 2012 that included an appearance in the Columbia Regional.

The Tigers are hitting .269 as a team in 2013 with 15 doubles, two homers, 10 stolen bases (in 14 chances), 22 walks, three hit-by-pitches, and 37 strikeouts while averaging 5.1 runs per game. Clemson’s pitching staff has a 2.22 ERA this season, allowing 54 hits (.232 opponents’ batting average) and 21 walks against 55 strikeouts in 65.0 innings.

Projected Starting Lineups

South Carolina

C #21 Grayson Greiner (JR/.200 BA with 1 2B, 3 RBI, & 4 BBs in 6 games in 2013)

1B #20 LB Dantzler (SR/.542 BA with 2 2Bs, 3 HR, & 13 RBI in 7 games in 2013)

2B #22 Max Schrock (FR/.250 BA with 3 2Bs, 1 3B, & 7 RBI in 7 games in 2013)

SS #9 Joey Pankake (SO/.353 BA with 1 2B, 4 RBI, & 2 R in 6 games in 2013)

3B #16 Chase Verguson (SR/.412 BA with 2 2Bs, 1 HR, & 4 RBI in 7 games in 2013)

LF #26 Graham Saiko (JR/.318 BA with 5 RBI, 6 R, & 9 BBs in 7 games in 2013)

CF #3 Tanner English (SO/.348 BA with 2 2Bs, 7 R, & 5 BBs in 7 games in 2013)

RF #8 TJ Costen (SO/.167 BA with 1 3B, 2 RBI, & 4 R in 7 games in 2013)

DH #30 Erik Payne (JR/.143 BA with 2 RBI, 1 R, & 1 BB in 5 games in 2013)

Clemson

C #30 Garrett Boulware (SO/.375 BA with 1 2B, 5 RBI, & 3 runs in 6 games in 2013)

1B #12 Jon McGibbon (JR/.154 BA with 1 2B, 4 RBI, & 3 R in 7 games in 2013)

2B #17 Steve Wilkerson (JR/.429 BA with 2 2Bs, 1 HR, & 7 RBI in 7 games in 2013)

SS #3 Tyler Krieger (FR/.174 BA with 1 2B, 1 RBI, & 2 R in 7 games in 2013)

3B #13 Jay Baum (SO/.231 BA with 2 2Bs, 3 RBI, & 1 R in 7 games in 2013)

LF #1 Maleeke Gibson (FR/.250 BA with 1 R, 2 BBs, & 1 SB in 6 games in 2013)

CF #4 Thomas Brittle (*SR/.250 BA with 1 2B, 6 R, & 5 BBs in 7 games in 2013)

RF #9 Steven Duggar (FR/.320 BA with 3 2Bs, 1 RBI, & 7 R in 7 games in 2013)

DH #11 Shane Kennedy (JR/.250 BA with 1 HR, 9 RBI, & 5 R in 7 games in 2013)

Projected Starting Pitchers

In game one, South Carolina will start sophomore lefthander Jordan Montgomery. The Sumter, SC native is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in two starts for a total of 11.0 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed 10 hits (.233 opponents’ batting average) and five walks against 10 strikeouts.

Clemson will counter with sophomore righthander Daniel Gossett. The Lyman, SC native is 1-0 with a 0.77 ERA in two starts for a total of 11.2 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed 10 hits (.233 opponents’ batting average) and three walks against 12 strikeouts.

In game two, the Tigers will start freshman Clate Schmidt. The Acworth, GA native is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two appearances (one start) for a total of 6.2 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed eight hits (.296 opponents’ batting average) and one walk against five strikeouts.

The Gamecocks will counter with senior righthander Colby Holmes. The Conway, SC native is 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA in two starts for a total of 12.1 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed three hits (.077 opponents’ batting average) and three walks against seven strikeouts.

In game three, Clemson will start senior righthander Scott Firth. The Buffalo Grove, IL native is 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA in two starts for a total of 15.0 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed seven hits (.149 opponents’ batting average) and three walks against nine strikeouts.

South Carolina will counter with senior lefthander Nolan Belcher. The Augusta, GA native is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two starts for a total of 11.2 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed 12 hits (.250 opponents’ batting average) and one walk against 16 strikeouts.

Worth Noting

Clemson is 15-7 all-time on March 1 with a 11-3 mark at home. The Tigers are 15-10-1 all-time on March 2 with a 0-3 mark at neutral sites. Clemson is 21-7 all-time on March 3 with a 4-3 mark on the road.
The Tigers have won four straight games against the Gamecocks at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. South Carolina has won four straight games at Carolina Stadium and eight consecutive games in the series away from Tigertown.
Five of the last six meetings in the series have been decided by one run with South Carolina holding a 4-1 advantage in those contests.
Clemson has faced 12 of the current 14 SEC members on the diamond, missing only LSU and league newcomer Missouri, and the Tigers sporting a 388-359-7 in those contests.
Jack Leggett has 10 of the 14 current members (missing LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, & Vanderbilt). Leggett is 108-122 against SEC competition, going 90-73 at Clemson and 18-49 at Western Carolina.

Tiger Career Stats vs. South Carolina

Player AVG G-S AB R H RBI HR

Joe Costigan .400 3-1 5 1 2 1 0

Jon McGibbon .292 7-5 24 1 7 1 0

Steve Wilkerson .250 5-5 24 3 6 2 0

Jay Baum .167 4-2 6 1 1 0 0

Garrett Boulware .154 3-3 13 0 2 0 0

Thomas Brittle .105 5-5 19 2 2 3 0

Tyler Slaton —– 3-0 0 0 0 0 0

Player ERA G-S W-L IP H ER BB SO

Kevin Pohle 0.00 1-1 0-0 5.0 6 0 2 5

Matt Campbell 0.00 1-0 0-0 3.1 1 0 0 3

Mike Kent 0.00 1-0 0-0 0.1 0 0 0 0

Daniel Gossett 4.15 2-1 0-1 8.2 7 4 4 11

Jonathan Meyer 4.30 5-0 0-0 14.2 15 7 6 10

Joseph Moorefield 4.50 4-0 1-0 4.0 3 2 0 2

Scott Firth 5.68 3-0 1-0 6.1 8 4 3 5

Patrick Andrews 7.71 1-0 0-0 2.1 3 2 0 2