The Clemson Tigers baseball team fresh off a big mid-week win against USC-Upstate will play a three game set against the rival Gamecocks of the University of South Carolina this week across three separate venues.
Friday night will be a true road tilt at Founders Park in Columbia, followed by Saturday night at Segra Park, also in Columbia and finally back to the friendly confines of Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Expect a raucous crowd across all three ballparks.
This is the week both fan bases look forward to. It’s a very unique series, started just a few years ago with each team playing one home game and one “neutral” site game. This series is arguably the best rivalry series in all of college baseball. Apologies to those with differing views.
Clemson is hitting .330 as a team, with all games at home thusfar. Still led by Sophomore Cam Canarella who was held out of the mid-week game against Upstate for a maintenance day. Will Taylor burst out of his early season slump to lead the Tigers, just in time for the big rivalry series. The Tigers are averaging 8.6 runs per game.
Here is your preview of the South Carolina Gamecocks, who come in at 8-1 on the season. Similarly, all of their games have been played at home as well.
South Carolina Gamecocks #12
Head Coach – Mark Kingston – 7th Season
Record – 8-1
Wins against: Miami (OH) x3, Winthrop, Queens, Belmont x2, Gardner-Webb
Losses against: Belmont
Pitching Match Ups:
Friday – RHP Billy Barlow (Clemson) vs. RHP Eli Jones (UofSC)
Saturday – LHP Tristan Smith (Clemson) vs. RHP Dylan Eskew (UofSC)
Sunday – RHP Aidan Knaak (Clemson) vs. RHP Roman Kimball (UofSC)
Coach Erik Bakich did state during his postgame comments after Sunday that we should not expect to see much from Austin Gordon, as he will be on a shorter pitch count than he was a week ago, in preparation of usage in the weekend rivalry series.
Here is the projected starters for the UofSC Gamecocks positionally, with their early season stats as well:
Position Players:
| NAME (Jersey #) | GRADE | POSITION | ‘24 STATISTICS |
| Blake Jackson (6) | Junior | Left Field | .250; 6 RBI |
| Parker Noland (11) | RS Senior | 2nd Base | .212; 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI |
| Ethan Petry (20) | Sophomore | Right Field | .357; 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI |
| Cole Messina (19) | Junior | Catcher | .212; 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI |
| Talmadge LeCroy (5) | Junior | 3rd Base | .346; 2B, HR, 6 RBI |
| Tyler Causey (12) | Senior | DH | .273; 2 2B, HR, 8 RBI |
| Dylan Brewer (10) | RS Senior | Centerfield | .519; 2B, 3B, 10 RBI |
| Gavin Casas (52) | Senior | 1st Base | .217; 3 2B, HR, 10 RBI |
| Will Tippett (13) | Sophomore | Shortstop | .160; 10 RBI |
Offensively, the Gamecocks are hitting .285 as a team, with 14 doubles, 1 triple, 11 home runs and have knocked in 79 runs. The Gamecocks are perfect swiping bags at 6-6 with three guys at 2-2 each, including former Clemson centerfielder Dylan Brewer.
Brewer is currently 25th in the country in batting average, having a renaissance year from his days at Clemson. Always great defensively, Brewer was eternally in a slump at Tiger town. He’s having a wonderful year in Columbia early on.
Ethan Petry is the “straw that stirs the drink.” The preseason Golden Spikes nominee for top baseball player in the country, is also having a solid sophomore campaign.
PITCHING
| NAME (Jersey #) | Year/Hand | ‘24 Statistics |
| Eli Jones (14) | Junior/RHP | 1-0; 1.00 ERA; 9 IP, 8 K, 0 BB; OppBA: .097 |
| Dylan Eskew (16) | Junior/RHP | 1-1; 3.60 ERA; 10 IP, 9 K, 5 BB; OppBA: .111 |
| Roman Kimball (2) | Sophomore | 1-0; 1.50 ERA; 6 IP, 9 K, 5 BB; OppBA: .100 |
As a pitching staff, UofSC has a 2.40 ERA, good enough for 8th in the country in the early going and opponents are hitting .166 against the Gamecocks. They have only surrendered 5.6 hits per game against, good enough for 4th in the country. They’ve surrendered 9 2Bs, 1 3B, and 5 HRs as a staff. This staff has been the strength of the team in the early going.
Summary
This is a very veteran-laden Gamecocks team, arguably the most well-rounded under Coach Kingston. Brewer and Petry, along with Talmadge LeCroy and Cole Messina lead the charge offensively.
This has all the makings of a great series. Clemson has been playing from behind the majority of the season, and the Gamecocks have been able to put away teams early in a bunch of their early games. Here’s to hoping the Tigers can reverse that trend and take an early lead and hold on to it this weekend. This truly should be a fun weekend!
