Tigers set for rivalry series with Gamecocks |
The No. 7 Tigers face No. 23 South Carolina three times at three different sites this weekend in their annual rivalry series.
SERIES SETUP • Who - Clemson (8-0) vs. South Carolina (6-3) • Best Rankings - CU - No. 7 CB; USC - No. 23 CB • When - Friday (7 p.m.), Saturday (3 p.m.), Sunday (2 p.m.) • Where - Columbia, S.C., (Founders Park) Friday; Greenville, S.C., (Fluor Field) Saturday; Clemson, S.C., (Doug Kingsmore Stadium) Sunday • Watch - SEC Network+ (Friday), ACC Network Extra (Sunday) • Video Announcers - Burch Antley & Kip Bouknight (Friday); Fred Cunningham & Kyle Parker (Sunday) • Listen - TigerCast, Clemson Tigers Network • Live Stats - ClemsonTigers.com • Social Media - ClemsonBaseball • Tickets - ClemsonTigers.com, 1-800-CLEMSON • Promotion - The first 3,000 fans receive a “Beat South Carolina” button. REEDY RIVER RIVALRY TAILGATE PARTY • The Reedy River Rivalry Tailgate Party, which opens Saturday at noon is on Main Street at Fluor Field. • Food, drinks and interactive exhibits for fans of all ages can be found on Main Street all day on Saturday. • There will be live music from a band throughout Saturday starting at 12:30 p.m. SERIES HISTORY • Overall Record - Clemson leads 176-137-2 (1899-2017) • Record at South Carolina - South Carolina leads 82-68-2 (1900-2017) • Record at Neutral - Tied 10-10 (1899-2017) • Record at Clemson - Clemson leads 98-45 (1907-2017) STORIED RIVALRY • South Carolina is Clemson’s most-common opponent, as the two have played 315 times dating to 1899. • The two have met at least one time every year since 1945, with the exception of 1984. • Clemson leads the series 51-28 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium (opened in 1970). • South Carolina leads the series 4-3 at Fluor Field (opened 2006). The first game there between the two teams was 2010. • South Carolina leads the series 8-4 at Founders Park (opened in 2009). STARTING PITCHERS • Friday - LHP Jacob Hennessy (CU - 1-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. RHP Adam Hill (USC - 1-1, 5.73) • Saturday - RHP Cody Morris (USC - 2-0, 3.38) vs. RHP Brooks Crawford (CU - 1-0, 2.00) • Sunday - TBA (USC) vs. LHP Jake Higginbotham (CU - 2-0, 0.73) CLEMSON OVERVIEW • Clemson rallied to beat Winthrop 9-8 in 10 innings on Tuesday after sweeping No. 10 Dallas Baptist in three games at home last weekend. • The Tigers are averaging 7.4 runs per game and hitting .282 with a .413 on-base percentage and four steals. • The pitching staff has a 2.92 ERA, .207 opponents’ batting average and 3.65 strikeout-to-walk ratio and Clemson is fielding .987. SOUTH CAROLINA OVERVIEW • South Carolina is led by first-year head coach Mark Kingston. • The Gamecocks lost at home to Furman 6-4 on Tuesday. They are hitting .277 and have a 2.56 ERA and .979 fielding percentage. • LT Tolbert is hitting .469 with two of the team's 18 homers and eight RBIs, while TJ Hopkins is batting .324 with six stolen bases. QUICK HITS • Clemson has won each of the last three regular-season series against South Carolina with a 2-1 record. • Clemson is the designated home team and will occupy the first-base dugout for Saturday’s game at Fluor Field. • The Tigers' 8-0 start is their best since starting 8-0 in 2010. The last time Clemson started 9-0 was 2002, when it won its first 13 games. TIGERS AT FLUOR FIELD • Clemson has a 22-6 all-time record at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. • The Tigers have outscored the opposition 230-117 at Fluor Field, an average score of 8.2-4.2. • The only teams to defeat Clemson at Fluor Field are South Carolina (2010,11,14,15), Presbyterian College (2011) and Michigan State (2015). • Clemson is 11-0 against Furman at Fluor Field. The Tigers have outscored Furman 123-50 in their 11 meetings at Fluor Field. BOB BRADLEY AWARD PRESENTED SUNDAY • Clemson’s MVP of the South Carolina series is presented the Bob Bradley Award. The Gamecocks’ MVP receives the Tom Price Award. • The two late athletic communications directors served as baseball contacts for their respective schools for decades. WHARTON EMERGING IN FINAL SEASON • Senior Drew Wharton entered the season with a career .220 batting average, no homers and 20 RBIs in 74 games (22 starts) over three years. • With the departure of two outfielders from last year's team, he has made the most of his chance to contribute in 2018. • He is hitting .308 with four homers, a double, 13 RBIs and a .375 on-base percentage in eight games (seven starts) this season. • He hit three long balls, the first three of his career, in the series against No. 10 Dallas Baptist in February.
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