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Call it the Reedy River Rivalry, the Palmetto Series, or whatever you want, but once again it’s time for Clemson and South Carolina to renew their fierce rivalry on the baseball field. The Tigers lead the overall series 174-136-2 and took last season’s series 2-1. The Tigers have won the past 2 series against the Gamecocks.
South Carolina comes in with a 5-3 record and ranked #5 in the D1baseball.com poll. South Carolina opened 2017 by winning their first two games against UNC Greensboro before dropping game 3 in the series 1-0. The Gamecocks dropped a Thursday night game last week to Kansas St in Columbia before going on to take two of three from Wright State in a home weekend series. South Carolina picked up a 8-4 win over Appalachian State Tuesday night. Offensively, the Gamecocks have been powered by outfielder Alex Destino, who has posted 10 RBI’s and 2 homers on the year. Pitcher Colie Bowers has been solid for the Gamecocks. Bowers started last Tuesday’s 5-4 win over Charlotte, and then earned the win in relief of Clarke Schmidt during last Friday’s 4-3 win over Wright St. Bowers Bowers is 2-0 in four appearances with a 0.00 ERA.
Friday’s series opener will be at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Last season, the Tigers closed out the series with a 4-1 win over the Gamecocks in front of a capacity crowd at the Doug. The Gamecocks Friday night starter is Clarke Schmidt. Clarke, a right handed junior from Acworth, Ga, is the brother of former Clemson pitcher Clate Schmidt, who is currently in the Detroit Tigers farm system. In 2 starts, Clarke is 1-0 with a 0.69 ERA. Clemson will be countering with Friday starter Charlie Barnes. The left handed junior from Sumter is officially 0-0 in 2 starts with a 1.46 ERA. Friday’s first pitch will be at 6:30 PM . Audio of the game will be broadcast on the Clemson Tigers Sports Network, while live video can be seen on ACC Network Extra, available through WatchESPN.
Saturday, the two teams will meet in Greenville at Flour Field, home of the single A Greenville Drive. This is Flour Field’s seventh time hosting the rivalry. Last season’s 5-0 Clemson win drew a stadium record crowd of 7,216 fans. The Tigers are the designated away team this season, and will be bringing in Saturday starter Pat Krall. Krall is 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA. The Gamecocks will be starting Will Crowe. Crowe is 2-0 with a 0.79 ERA. Saturday’s game time is 1:00 PM and can be seen through the Greenville Drive on MILB.tv. The game can also be heard on the Clemson Tigers Sports Network.
The final game will be Sunday at the Gamecock’s home field, Founder’s park in Columbia. Last season, the Cocks snagged their only win of the series in a 8-1 victory. Clemson will be throwing RS Sophomore Alex Eubanks. The righty from Moore is 1-1 in two starts with a 3.97 ERA. He’ll be facing junior Adam Hill. The Anderson native is 0-2 with a 1.50 ERA. First pitch is at 1:30 PM. The game can be heard on the Clemson Tiger Sports Network and live video can be seen via SEC Network Plus, also available through WatchESPN.