South Carolina beat Manhattan 7-0 last night to move into the winners’ bracket. Earlier in the day Clemson beat Coastal Carolina 11-3 to do the same. The Gamecocks and Tigers play today at 4 pm.
Haven’t we already played them? Yes we have. USC won in Charleston and Columbia but lost in Clemson.
Isn’t the NCAA supposed to avoid rematches? Yes, that was their stated policy for years, but for some reason this year they decided to be more sensitive to travel issues, so we get to welcome our dear friends from the upstate.
Well, are they any good? Yeah, kinda. They’re good enough to win the regional. They’re 34-26 overall, and they were 16-14 in the ACC. They were never in danger of not making the post season, but they weren’t really in contention to host either. They are a solid 2-seed.
The pitching? Clemson used Kevin Pohle and David Haselden yesterday, and Kevin Brady is hampered by an injury and is expected to only be used in relief. That leaves two regular starters, Daniel Gossett and Dominic Leone. Rumor is Gossett is likely to get the call. He is 6-3 with a 4.50 ERA. Opponents are only batting .227 against him, and he has struck out 79 against 36 walks.
If he cannot go the distance the Tigers will probably turn to Scott Firth and Jonathan Meyer. First has a 1.99 ERA but is prone to walking people at times. Meyer has an ERA of 4.31 and leads the team in appearances.
Can they hit? Richie Shaffer, the third baseman, is their best hitter. He is batting .339 with 10 HR and 46 RBI. Many teams have pitched around him, and he had 59 walks on the year. Thomas Brittle, the centerfielder, is batting .302 with 34 RBI. Steve Wilkerson, the sophomore second baseman, is batting .302 with 30 RBI. The key power man, outside of Shaffer, is Phil Pohl. He is second on the team with 9 HR and leads the team with 55 RBI.
What’s the upshot? Its very difficult to predict. There are cliched sayings like, “you can throw out the record books in a rivalry game.” It’s become cliched because it’s true. Clemson will give the Gamecocks their best shot. However good Clemson is at their best (they beat FSU 2 of 3) that’s the team South Carolina is likely to face.
That being said expect the rivalry to bring out the best in the Gamecocks as well. Michael Roth originally made his reputation by beating the Tigers in Omaha in 2010. He’s the man Coach Tanner wants on the mound, and that has to be a good sign for Carolina fans. Roth knows how to pitch; he’s been in big games, and he’s been in the midst of the rivalry before.
South Carolina won 2 of 3 this year, 2 of 3 last year and 3 out of 5 the year before, so this hasn’t been the worst match up recently. Today’s winner will be in the driver’s seat the rest of the regional.
Clemson and South Carolina were both the home teams yesterday, so a coin toss was conducted to determine the home team today. South Carolina won that toss, so they will be the home team.
