By Will Vandervort
Everyone is talking about Clemson’s potential rematch with archrival South Carolina on Saturday in the Columbia Regional, but what everyone is forgetting is Clemson has to play Liberty first and the Gamecocks, the top seed in the regional, have to play St. Louis.
The Tigers say their focus is squarely on Liberty right now.
“That’s our first concern,” Clemson head coach Jack Leggett said. “They have already been down (to Columbia) for a three-game series and took one of the games from South Carolina earlier in the year.”
The Flames, the No. 3 seed, enter the regional after winning the Big South Conference Tournament title in Lynchburg, VA last week. They posted a 13-11 conference record during the regular season, while finishing fourth in the Big South Conference North Division standings.
“We have heard good things about their team,” Leggett said. “They have some athletic kids and I’m sure they will be a good challenge for us. We will have to be on our A-game to make that work. They will be our first concern.”
The 2013 season marks the fourth time in school history Liberty (34-27) has played in an NCAA Tournament. No one on Liberty’s team has played in an NCAA Regional before.
“I’ve been to fourteen regionals, seven super (regionals) and three times to Omaha. I’m excited for them,” Liberty head coach Jim Toman said on 107.5-FM, The Game in Columbia on Wednesday.
Toman, now in his sixth season at Liberty, was a former assistant coach at South Carolina under Ray Tanner for 11 years. He is hoping that will bring him a little bit of a home field advantage when the Flames take on the Tigers at 1 p.m. at Carolina Stadium.
“I imagine we’re gonna have a few South Carolina fans on our side,” he said.
Clemson (39-20) is expecting them to.
“I assume the games are going to be sold out,” Clemson catcher Garrett Boulware said. “Even when we play Liberty I figure it is going to be sold out with all the South Carolina fans yelling at us.
“That’s what we expect when we go down there. It’s a fun atmosphere. We know how to play and we know how to handle it. We will be ready.”
Leggett announced Wednesday he will give the ball to freshman Zack Erwin to start the regional on Friday. The lefty is coming off a solid pitching performance against No. 1 overall seed North Carolina in last week’s ACC Championships. He held the eventual ACC Champions to two runs on five hits in five and 1/3 innings of work.
Erwin has a 5-1 record in 21 appearances this season, including five starts. He has a 3.30 ERA and opponents are hitting just .240 on him.
Liberty is hitting .266 with a .373 slugging percentage and a .343 on-base percentage. The Flame has also totaled 93 doubles, 13 triples, 32 home runs and is averaging 5.0 runs per game.
Ashton Perritt is hitting .338 with six homers and 16 steals. Bryan Aanderud is batting .321 with one homer and 37 RBIs, while Trey Wimmer is hitting .303 with 16 doubles, three triples, four homers, and 36 RBIs. Ryan Cordell (26) and Nick Paxton (19) have added double-digit steals as well.
The pitching staff has a 4.06 ERA and .261 opponents’ batting average. The staff has allowed 20 homers and 229 walks against 376 strikeouts, good for a 1.64 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Josh Richardson will take the mound for Liberty against the Tigers. The righty is 3-4 with a 2.45 ERA and has two saves in 62.1 innings pitched over 22 appearances (seven starts).
“I’m excited about being in the tournament and excited about the opportunity we have head of us,” Leggett said. “We are going down there and we will be ready to play.”
Clemson and Liberty have met five times, with the Flames holding a 3-2 lead in the series that dates to 1988. In their last meeting at Liberty in 2000, the Flames downed the Tigers, 6-4.
The two teams have never met on a neutral field or in the NCAA Tournament.