Considering he has been on both sides of the rivalry, first as an assistant coach at South Carolina from 2003-‘08 and then as Clemson’s head coach the last three-plus seasons, Monte Lee has a lot of great memories.
His favorite moment, however, came in last year’s 8-7 victory over the Gamecocks in Game 3 to clinch the series. With Robert Jolly on first base, Drew Wharton tripled off the wall in right field, bringing the short-legged Jolly all the way home for the walk-off win.
“He looked like Bamm-Bamm on the Flintstones running around the bases,” Lee said while laughing. “If you watched the video, I think he took two-hundred and fifty steps before getting to third.”
Lee said watching Jolly slide home and seeing his team dogpile him at home plate “was amazing” and it’s what makes the Clemson-South Carolina rivalry one of the best in college baseball, if not the best.
“I think it is the best rivalry in all of college baseball,” the Clemson coach said. “One thing that we sell recruits when they come and visit at Clemson is that Clemson and the University of South Carolina are the Red Sox and the Yankees of the state of South Carolina.
“That is just the way it is. We are not a professional sport state. We are a college state. We are a college athletics state. So, the people of this state are on one side of the fence or the other. That is what makes this rivalry so great. Everybody across the state is pulling for one of us. So, it is very intense, very heated and it is also a lot of fun. It is a lot of fun to be a part of.”
It has especially been a lot of fun for the Tigers lately. Clemson has won the last four season-series over the Gamecocks to gain back control of the rivalry.
However, that does not mean the games have not come with a little drama. The Tigers have had to win the final game in each of the four years to win the series. Included in those was last year’s dramatics and a 5-3 win in 11 innings in Columbia back in 2017.
Clemson got a solo home run from Seth Beer with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to force extra innings and then won the game with a two-run 11th inning. Under Lee, the Tigers have lost Game 1 in each of the three series, only to rally and win the final two games each year.
“For us, it is just competing every single pitch. The games are so competitive. You don’t feel like you are out of it,” Lee said.
“A lot of times it boils down to one pitch here or there or one inning here or there and whoever capitalizes, wins the series. And we have just been fortunate to be able to capitalize. That is the big thing. Just don’t take a pitch off because it could be the pitch that gets us back in the game or wins the series for us, wins the game for us. Every single pitch matters in this rivalry.”
What also makes the rivalry so unique is the way the series is played. One game is played in Clemson, another is played in Columbia and then the other is played on a neutral field.
This year, the Tigers will host Game 1 tonight (6 p.m.) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, while Game 2 will move to Greenville’s Fluor Field on Saturday (1 p.m.) and Game 3 will be in Columbia at South Carolina’s Founders Park (Noon).
“I don’t know of anybody else that does that,” Lee said. “I think it makes it really cool. I think it is challenging because you have to play in three different ballparks in three different days. Each ballpark is a little bit different. The crowds are pretty dang good in all three ballparks.
“It is what it is all about. I think it is really unique and it is a lot of fun.”
It’s Clemson-Carolina, and college baseball does not get much better than this weekend.
“It’s about the players and it is about the fans,” Lee said. “I’m pretty irrelevant when it comes to this weekend. It is going to be about how our guys compete. I’m excited about seeing our guys show up on Friday ready to go.”