CLEMSON BASEBALL

Hood: The Day the Music Died
Mike Freeman walks off the field after losing to South Carolina in the 2010 College World Series.

Hood: The Day the Music Died


by - Senior Writer -

I was there the day the music died and didn’t have a clue what I was witnessing.

No, I’m not talking about the real event that spawned that saying – the tragic plane crash that claimed the life of Buddy Holly. Instead, I’m talking about the game four years ago that started a slide for the Clemson baseball program, a slide that continued this past weekend with a three-game sweep at the hands of Miami, dropping Clemson out of the polls.

I love baseball. It’s the sport I grew up playing, and while there is no doubt that college football has its pull on me, baseball is my first love. For me, the rhythm of the game, the choreographed and familiar movements and the sounds of a game on any level on a warm spring evening are like a symphony. For the Clemson baseball program, that symphony is hitting sour note after sour note.

The summer of 2010 was exciting and riveting – the Tigers lost two of three to Wake Forest near the end of the season, but swept Florida St. in a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium to win the regular season ACC Atlantic title. The Tigers went 1-2 in the ACC Tournament, and earned a trip to Auburn for the NCAA Regional.

The weather was hot and sticky and the crowds were definitely pro-Auburn, but the Tigers knocked off Southern Miss and then Auburn in the first two games of the regional, with extra-curricular drama surrounding outfielder Kyle ParkerKyle Parker
Outfielder (2008 - 2010)
#11 6-1, 200
Jacksonville, FL

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and his becoming a first round draft pick by the Colorado Rockies. Auburn won game three, but the Tigers held on for a 13-7 win over the other Tigers in winning the regional.

The Tigers hosted the Super Regional against Alabama, lost the first game but won the next two by scores of 19-5 and 8-6. The sight of the Clemson players climbing the outfield wall to celebrate with the fans in the Cajun Café following the Super Regional win – earning a trip to Omaha and the College World Series – will forever be burned in my memory.

In Omaha, the Tigers continued their roll in beating Arizona St. 6-3 in the first game and Oklahoma 6-4 in the second game. The Tigers were on a roll, and needed just one victory to claim a spot in the championship. My son Koty went with me on that trip, and we spent a heady week celebrating victory after victory with the program, giddy at the possibility of a national championship.

It was at that point that it all changed, and things haven’t been the same since that time. The Tigers lost the next two games – both to South Carolina – and went home without the championship. The Gamecocks began a masterful run of their own that began a streak of back-to-back national championships. The Tigers, meanwhile, haven’t won any kind of postseason series since the win over Alabama.

The Tigers hosted a regional in 2011, and despite having a team that won 43 games lost the regional to upstart Connecticut. The Tigers won the first two games of the regional, forcing the Huskies to win two games at Doug Kingsmore. They did just that, the finale a 14-1 pounding that seemed to take some of the heart out of the program.

The 2012 and 2013 seasons ended with losses in the regional at South Carolina, and the frustrations against South Carolina continued this season as the Tigers were swept by their rivals. The stat line there isn’t pretty – the Gamecocks have won 13 of the past 16 games in the series, dating back to the two games in the 2010 CWS. Overall, South Carolina has won 23 of its last 31 games against Clemson.

The numbers against the better competition aren’t much better, and against South Carolina, North Carolina St., Virginia, Miami (FL) and Florida St. this season the Tigers are just 3-12.

Yes, the numbers are ugly. Is it coaching? Is it psychological? Is it talent? I don’t know the reason or reasons, but in preparing to write this it caused a lot of reflection on that 2010 season and the players who made it so memorable.

Parker (20 HR, 65 RBI), Jeff SchausJeff Schaus
Sr. Outfielder
#3 6-1, 205
Naples, FL

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(15-87), Mike Freeman (8-57), Brad MillerBrad Miller
Infielder (2009 - 2011)
#13 6-1, 185
Windermere, FL

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(8-49), John HinsonJohn Hinson
Infielder (2008 - 2011)
#4 6-1, 180
Asheville, NC

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(17-75) and Richie ShafferRichie Shaffer
3rd Base (2010 - 2012)
#8 6-3, 205
Charlotte, NC

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(7-36) all put up numbers that were typical of that era, the year before the NCAA changed the bat types. However, those cats could all play, and it’s no coincidence that six of those players were drafted in the professional draft that June.

Overall, 19 players off of that team would get drafted, and Miller and Dominic LeoneDominic Leone
RH Pitcher (2010 - 2012)
#6 5-11, 195
Norwich, CT

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are currently on the roster of the Seattle Mariners. Other players from that team are still in the minor leagues, toiling away.

Yes, that team was full of talent, and I don’t know (and couldn’t tell you for sure) if this young group of players has that kind of potential. Right off the top of my head, though, the answer is no. Daniel GossettDaniel Gossett
Jr. RH Pitcher
#23 6-0, 180
Lyman, SC

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and Matthew CrownoverMatthew Crownover
So. LH Pitcher
#44 5-11, 205
Ringgold, GA

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could have played on that 2010 team, and players like Steven DuggarSteven Duggar
So. Outfielder
#9 6-1, 185
Moore, SC

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and Chris OkeyChris Okey
Fr. Catcher
#25 6-0, 180
Mount Dora, FL

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show promise.

Since 1991, the Tigers haven't had a class of seniors go their entire careers without trips to the College World Series. This year's senior class, which includes Steve WilkersonSteve Wilkerson
Sr. 2nd Base
#17 6-1, 195
Roswell, GA

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, Jon McGibbonJon McGibbon
Sr. 1st Base
#12 6-1, 220
Lindenhurst, NY

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and Matt CampbellMatt Campbell
Sr. RH Pitcher
#36 5-11, 195
Alpharetta, GA

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, might be the class that breaks that streak.

This year’s team sits at 25-19 (12-11) in the ACC, and the team’s RPI (per www.warrennolan.com) sits at 46th nationally with the 26th-toughest schedule. The Atlantic Division title is all but lost, and if the season ended today the Tigers would escape the play-in game in the ACC Tournament as the sixth seed (behind Miami, Florida St., Virginia, Duke and North Carolina. Two other teams (Wake Forest and Georgia Tech) sit just a half-game behind Clemson in the standings at 12-12.

However, all is not lost. The Tigers have six ACC games remaining, and those six games are against two of the three worst teams in the league – three against Boston College (17-27 overall, 8-16 ACC) and three against Notre Dame (17-26, 4-17). The Tigers can and need to make a late-season push in order to cement their place in the ACC Tournament and to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.

There were plenty of empty seats this past weekend at Doug Kingsmore, and if the Tigers continue their recent slide there will be many more. The notes are indeed sour right now, but the schedule presents a second chance at a quick tune-up before the postseason. Will the baseball program continue to hit a discordant note with its fans, or will a late-season push hit all the right notes? It remains to be seen, but things haven’t been the same since June of 2010 and the score needs to change, starting now.

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Subject (Replies: 66) Author
spacer New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
TigerNet News®
spacer Re: New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
allorangeallthetime52®
spacer Re: New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
widhorse
spacer Re: New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
slumdog
spacer Re: New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
golfer23
spacer Re: New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
bjjenks
spacer Hope left the building when SCar won the first game
CUTiger1989®
spacer The music may have died 4 years ago......
1983Grad
spacer Re: The music may have died 4 years ago......
1cutigers76®
spacer Re: The music may have died 4 years ago......
MadDrummer
spacer Yep .. someone hit a flat note.***
CUTiger1989®
spacer Re: New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
TomTom
spacer Re: New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
Tiger Fan 07
spacer Weren't we up 8-0 going in the 9th G3 vs Alabama
IPTAY FAMILY
spacer Yes.
CURAISED
spacer Give Jack a raise!***
tigerdrummer®
spacer As in a tailgate lift on the back of a moving van.
CUTiger1989®
spacer Re: New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
sbdy
spacer Re: New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
Tiger Fan 07
spacer At least you admit 4 years.....
TS_Tiger
spacer Re: At least you admit 4 years.....
leftie
spacer The mindset has flipped
ReallyJoelShaw
spacer Smartest Post By a Gamecock on this Board Ever***
TigersRoar04®
spacer ^^^Confessed Coot will not like this***
GWPTiger®
spacer Even a blind dirtpecker...... ;-) :-D *****
ReallyJoelShaw
spacer Hmmm...not good when Coot logic makes sense***
iTiger®
spacer Yep.***
Smiling Tiger®
spacer A change must be made.
fatboy
spacer Best written article around here in a long time...
Clemfan
spacer Re: New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
clemtiger117
spacer Bet he thinks doubles are more exciting than HRs, too.
CUTiger1989®
spacer Its baseball.***
deleted
spacer bout time some of y'all joined me…
Graphic Tiger®
spacer Perhaps we should perform the
CUTiger1989®
spacer Hard to argue. The lack of confidence is apparent.
Cdixon11
spacer As d@mning an indictment as I've heard yet***
grover173
spacer clearly something has to change after this season
tigermark82
spacer Re: New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
smed
spacer What I think changed the Clemson in the CWS was the
MyfavOrange®
spacer The lefty dominated lineup killed that team
Blitzer
spacer You may remember, David, that there were many on here who
surroundedtiger
spacer Re: You may remember, David, that there were many on here who
D210tiger
spacer and we said, bye bye Miss American pie, I drove my Chevy
MyfavOrange®
spacer Well put and we sholdn't pull an FSU and keep Jack around
Ridgeland Booster®
spacer Re: Well put and we sholdn't pull an FSU and keep Jack around
march23jdm
spacer Re: Well put and we sholdn't pull an FSU and keep Jack around
Motor City Bengal
spacer Its obvious he's forgotten a lot of baseball knowledge
IPTAY FAMILY
spacer Re: Well put and we sholdn't pull an FSU and keep Jack around
armsb
spacer Spot on, but can you PLEASE remove the photo?? :(
WrenCUDad
spacer Re: Spot on, but can you PLEASE remove the photo?? :(
HUGE BLUE
spacer Second thoughts on the article
IPTAY FAMILY
spacer Was @ MissSt Reg. for that disaster, god the cowbells***
bmthirdbase
spacer Leggett should have been gone after 2008***
wyletigr
spacer Re: New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
CheapSeatsPres
spacer It died in 2002, with first loss to coots in cws***
tigertrain®
spacer Started the first day Legette slid head first at Doug K.***
Orangetiger70®
spacer Re: Started the first day Legette slid head first at Doug K.***
armsb
spacer this article was very spot on******
thompson_creek_tiger®
spacer Leggett's days are numbered
Exiled2
spacer Re: New Story: Hood: The Day the Music Died
CUWarrior27
spacer Finally people are seeing the light. But one has to wonder
RockyMountainHigh
spacer Re: Finally people are seeing the light. But one has to wonder
CUWarrior27
spacer Re: Finally people are seeing the light. But one has to wonder
AtlantaTiger1994
spacer Thing about that argument is
Kaplony
spacer First game was 5-1 Carolina. You're referring to 2nd game.*
98Grad
spacer Still bitter about removing the outfield student platforms***
bmthirdbase
spacer Re: Still bitter about removing the outfield student platforms***
bmthirdbase