Tigers Face USC This Weekend

Weekend Series Presenting Sponsor
South Carolina Department of Agriculture

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) vs. RHP Adam Hill (USC)
• Saturday – RHP Cody Morris (USC) vs. RHP Brooks Crawford(CU)
• Sunday – TBA (USC) vs. LHP Jake Higginbotham (CU)

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).

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.