Wednesday April 11, 2007

Clemson-Carolina Baseball

The Rivalry
Weather permitting; Clemson and South Carolina will face each other in baseball for the 278 time tonight at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. I have ten questions about the rivalry. Some may get answered tonight and some won’t.

1. Has the Clemson-South Carolina baseball over taken the basketball as the number two sport in this rivalry?
I would say yes and this has been the case for the past few years. Part of the reason here is neither basketball program has been consistent. Cliff Ellis, Rick Barnes and Eddie Fogler had some very good teams but none maintained success for the long-term.

On the other hand, baseball has prospered in this state under Bill Wilhelm, Jack Leggett, Bobby Richardson, June Raines and Ray Tanner. In baseball, these teams have won conference titles and have played deep into the College World Series. Both programs consistently play in big games and often times those games have been against each other. When was the last time Clemson and South Carolina played a big basketball game?

I have been to many Clemson-Carolina basketball games and have never had a hard time getting as many tickets as I needed. Lately the ticket demand for baseball has greatly outnumbered the supply.

I could only imagine a huge game on the hardwood between Clemson and USC. I would love the idea of Clemson and South Carolina having scalpers outside their basketball coliseums. Imagine national television audience for the Tigers and Gamecocks in hoops.

2. Who has been the dominant program?
Great question and I am sure both teams feel like they can make a claim here. Clemson does lead the series 162-113-2. The Tigers have a 91-39 advantage at Clemson and are 44-22 against USC at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. USC leads in games played in Columbia 71-65-2. In games played at neutral sites Clemson has a 6-3 advantage.

3. Who is better in the last ten years?

Counting this season Clemson has a 17-16 lead over the Gamecocks in the last ten years. Neither team has been able to win more than three in a row during that stretch.
For example, Clemson is 26-18 in the last 44 games in the series but South Carolina is 16-14 in the last 30 games. Clemson is 5-3 in the last eight games but USC has won the last two contest. Maybe you can wrap it up best by stating that both teams are 7-7 in the last 14 match ups.

4. Which team is the better ball club this year?
This appears to be a simply answer. USC took it to Clemson 12-0 in Tigertown and rallied in the ninth for a come-from-behind one-run win the following day in Columbia. South Carolina has the better record, has been dominant head-to-head and is higher ranked. The Gamecocks have the advantage this season.

5. Which program has a brighter future?
This answer will come down to partisan politics. South Carolina fans will say they have a new stadium coming and they will be better in the future. Clemson fans feel they will continue to upgrade their stadium and the future looks brighter in Tigertown. I think it is safe to say that both programs may experience ups and downs but should maintain their status among the nation’s top ten programs.

6. Who benefits more from a win tonight?
I think Clemson could use the win more tonight. The Tigers needs to prove themselves against their in-state rival and give themselves a chance to tie the series next Wednesday in Columbia.

7. Who will win next week in Clemson’s last trip to Sarge Frye Field?
The Gamecocks would have to be favored. They have had the better start and will be playing at home.

8.What does the rest of the season hold for these two teams?
These two teams have schedules that are polar opposites. USC has played their toughest SEC opponent in top-ranked Vanderbilt. Meanwhile Clemson faces it toughest ACC competition in the second half of the season with games with ranked opponents like FSU, Virginia, NC State and Georgia Tech.

I would think South Carolina will battle Vanderbilt for the SEC title and should be a favorite to make it to Omaha. The Gamecocks look like a strong candidate to host a regional and super regional. Clemson is in the thick of the ACC race but must play well if it hopes to host in the post season.

9. Which players are the keys to tonight’s game?
Obviously the two starting pitchers are a key. Both are left-handers who are very inexperienced. With that said, I think the middle relief pitchers will be a key also. We may see one or both of the starting pitchers struggle so they are important and the threat of long rain delays mean pitchers may not go back out if the delay is significant.

10. Who is the better coach Jack Leggett or Ray Tanner?
Yeah right. Please find me one unbiased answer on this one. Both schools should feel like they have the right man to lead their programs and their records indicate just that. I guess it depends on what you are looking for. Tanner is a solid baseball man that is very involved in each detail of the game. Leggett is an aggressive coach that is emotional and has his teams play with emotion. I don’t think you can find a state that has two better head coaches in this sport.

All of this talk about conference titles and the College World Series make me wonder if I will live long enough to see our football programs at the same level. I maintain that it would be extremely difficult to do in this small state and has not happened in the 100-plus years of the rivalry so far.

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