CLEMSON — College baseball’s best rivalry is set to resume this weekend.

No. 13 Clemson (7-1) and South Carolina (9-0) will play three games in three different cities, with things kicking off at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson on Friday. It’s a rivalry that dates all the way back to 1899.

Erik Bakich saw his Tigers take both games in the series a season ago, with the third one being canceled due to rain. The third-year head coach is now 3-2 against the Gamecocks since taking over as head coach at Clemson.

“I have said this since day one; we will respect this rivalry,” Bakich said. “The nation’s best rivalry, we will treat it with the utmost respect. We will show that respect for how we prepare for it. All year long. This is part of our program all of the time. Since meeting one, day one.”

Ace Aidan Knaak will take the mound for the Tigers, with the Gamecocks turning to left-hander Matthew Becker. South Carolina’s normal Friday starter, Dylan Eskew, was scratched due to an injury.

On Saturday, the series moves to Fluor Field in Greenville. Clemson will send lefty Ethan Darden to the mound, with South Carolina countering with left-hander Jake McCoy.

The series concludes on Sunday at Founders Park in Columbia, with left-handed sophomore Justin LeGuernic getting the nod for the Tigers. The Gamecocks have yet to announce a starter for the series finale.

“The roster on both teams change every year, but the feelings are exactly the same,” Bakich said. “It is the best rivalry in all of college baseball, bar none.”

While South Carolina comes in unbeaten, those wins have come against the likes of Sacred Heart, Winthrop, Milwaukee and Gardner-Webb. This will be the Gamecocks’ toughest test to date.

The Tigers opened the season in Arlington, Texas, by playing in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown. Clemson picked up Top 25 wins over Oklahoma State and Arizona while also suffering a run-rule loss to Ole Miss.

Facing that kind of competition to start the season should help have Clemson prepared for playing on the big stage this weekend. However, Bakich believes what lies ahead is unlike anything else.

“This will be a different kind of a test,” Bakich said. “This is even bigger. The atmosphere, the stage and the lights, it’s just unique — an outlier. There are only a handful of environments nationally that can even come close to what this is going to be like.”

Clemson leads the all-time series 188-145-2, but the Gamecocks have experienced more postseason success. That includes winning the College World Series twice, as well as eliminating the Tigers multiple times in Omaha.

With both programs having experienced so much success over the years, it only leads to more vitriol between the two rival fan bases.

“We can play them here, there, Fluor Field, Segra Park or in the freaking parking lot, and it is going to be off the chain,” Bakich said. “Looking forward to it. Excited that our guys get to be a part of it.”

Paul Mainieri is in his first year as the head coach at South Carolina, meaning he gets his first taste of the rivalry this weekend. However, he does have plenty of experience coaching on the national stage.

Mainieri led LSU to a national title in 2009 and won the SEC Tournament six times while in Baton Rouge. He also led Notre Dame to five Big East tournament championships during his time in South Bend, which included a run to Omaha in 2002.

“I have known coach Mainieri for what feels like a long time, since he was at Notre Dame,” Bakich said. “I consider him to be a really nice man, a genuinely good guy. He has had a heck of a career, won a national championship and been to Omaha with two different programs. Certainly respect all that he has accomplished. In all the circles and friendships of the coaching world, I don’t think we are there, nor would I ever be there with the South Carolina coach. But he is a great guy, a nice man, and I have a ton of respect for what he has accomplished.”

First pitch on Friday is set for 7 p.m. at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers are 104-46 all-time against the Gamecocks in games played in Clemson.