Clemson Hosts In-State Rival South Carolina Looking to End Skid
The Clemson Baseball team is in the midst of what can only be described as an up-and-down season.
There have been extended losing streaks and extended winning streaks. Currently, the Tigers have dropped three straight after being swept on the road at Georgia Tech over the weekend. This coming after entering the weekend on a seven-game winning streak.
Clemson (22-21, 15-15) will look to right the ship on Tuesday night when in-state rival South Carolina (28-17, 12-12) comes to town for the third and final game of the annual three-game series between the two teams.
"It's an absolute blessing for me to be a part of the rivalry," Clemson head coach Monte Lee said back in February. "To be here at Clemson, now in my sixth year, and being a part of it every year. I've coached at South Carolina as an assistant coach, grew up in the state of South Carolina, so it's just a blessing for me to be a part of the rivalry number one. To be a head coach in the rivalry, it's a lot of fun because it means a lot to the people from the state of South Carolina."
The game was originally set to be played back in February but was postponed due to weather. The Gamecocks would win the two games that were played, both by one run on walk-off hits by Andrew Eyster.
Neither team has announced a starting pitcher as of yet, however one possibility for the Tigers could be Davis Sharpe, who made his long awaited return to the mound one week ago in Clemson's win over USC-Upstate. An injury had kept the redshirt sophomore out of the rotation since throwing five innings against North Carolina back on March 12.
At the plate the Tigers are led by freshman Caden Grice. The left-handed slugger is currently batting .329 with 12 homeruns and 44 RBI. Sam Hall has also been crucial to the Tigers offense of late. Since returning from injury three weeks ago, Hall is hitting .340 with 3 homeruns and 6 RBI. James Parker and Kier Meredith have also stepped up big this season with both hitting .313.
The Gamecocks come in after dropping two out of three at home to Mississippi State over the weekend. After dropping the first two games of the series, South Carolina bounced back with a 4-3 extra innings win on Sunday.
Despite the Gamecocks having already clinched the season series for the second time in three seasons, this is a huge game for Clemson. The Tigers are currently ranked No. 51 in the RPI and are still fighting for a spot in the postseason. South Carolina is currently No. 12 in the RPI and is the highest ranked team remaining on the schedule.
The Tigers have played some of their best baseball at home this season, posting a 16-8 record in Doug Kingsmore Stadium, while the Gamecocks are just 7-10 on the road.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised on ACCNX.