It is rare that a South Carolina versus Clemson series ends with both teams’ fan bases feeling good, but that’s exactly what happened this weekend.
Yes, the seventh-ranked Gamecocks did win two out of three against their arch-rivals the Tigers. And yes, South Carolina won both of its games in rather dominating fashion – but fans of both programs should be encouraged by what they saw over the last three days.
For South Carolina the pitching performances over the weekend – particularly from their southpaws – served notice that the Gamecocks can beat anyone when their pitchers bring their best stuff to the ballpark. Furthermore, the series-clinching win on Sunday – led by senior left-hander Nolan Belcher’s three-hit complete game gem – shows the Gamecocks are not going to be a fun group to play when their backs are against the wall.
USC was unhappy after a lackluster loss on Saturday afternoon – the first time Clemson had ever beaten them on a neutral field under Jack Leggett – and the Gamecocks rallied Sunday to pummel Clemson with the series on the line. That kind of performance bodes well for a team that may face many such rubber matches this year.
Although a win over your rival is always big, Gamecock fans should savor this one because there won’t be many eight-run victories over the Tigers in the foreseeable future.
Based on the young stars Clemson trotted out this weekend, the Tigers will be trouble for South Carolina (and anyone else they play) in the coming years. Clate Schmidt – a freshman right-hander from Acworth, Georgia – utterly dominated USC on Saturday. Meanwhile the Tigers’ weekend batting order was loaded with talented freshmen (Steve Duggar, Tyler Krieger) who showed great promise against arguably the best team they’ll play all year.
The future looks bright at Clemson – which should make this annual series wildly entertaining (and much more competitive) over the next few years.
Meanwhile South Carolina has passed its biggest test to date convincingly. Now, the focus shifts to the SEC slate, where the Gamecocks will face far stiffer challenges than what they saw in February. USC should feel confident about its weekend rotation, though, and it seems that Coach Chad Holbrook is discovering which players fit where in the Gamecocks’ batting order.
For Clemson, the season can be redeemed by a deep run into the postseason. Looking down the road, though, Jack Leggett has to start turning the tide in this rivalry – which has become incredibly one-sided in recent years. Clemson has lost twenty of their last 28 games against South Carolina and the Gamecocks have played for three national titles, while the Tigers have yet to make it to the championship series. Leggett has done great things for Clemson baseball – but the bar being set in Columbia, S.C. is incredibly high, and he can’t keep losing to USC year after year.
Everyone in the state has now seen the talent Clemson has in its freshman class and Tiger fans are expecting big things from them in the future – including wins over USC and runs at national titles.
For the sake of their coach, they better deliver …
Rixon Lane is a junior broadcast journalism major at the University of South Carolina. He hosts a sports talk show on WUSC (90.5 FM) from 8:00-10:00 p.m. on Mondays.
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Pics: Laurie Giarratano
52 comments
FITS find yet another delusional Clemson @$$=-kisser….
Hey dude, I’m encouraged to see that Clemson just loses more and more ground to SC each year. Holbrrok picks up where Ray left off…
That said: You’ll be sitting at home AGAIN this year…as SC plays bigtime college baseball.
Clemson can be encouraged because the ACC is likely more OVER-RATED in baseball than it is in football…
So you may get an NCAA bid handed to you by beating up on the pathetic ACC…
and: Clemson’s season will be a success if you can avoid a post-season match up vs SC…because you know that’ll just be another @$$=-whuppin…
You left out Obama…
The writer is a Gamecock through and through. Simply a good journalist who doesn’t let a rivalry blind his objective view.
Learn to spell before you start slamming someone else’s writing. Thanks.
How ’bout Learn to THINK…before you open you mouth…
Spelling can be learned (or corrected by spellcheck)…Your inability to think for yourself is a sign of a lack of intelligence.
If you are going to try to write worthy of an audience, you need to be smart enough to originate thought. Don’t just mimmick what other idiots tell you to write… They are failures for a reason…
FITS find yet another delusional Clemson @$$=-kisser….
Hey dude, I’m encouraged to see that Clemson just loses more and more ground to SC each year. Holbrrok picks up where Ray left off…
That said: You’ll be sitting at home AGAIN this year…as SC plays bigtime college baseball.
Clemson can be encouraged because the ACC is likely more OVER-RATED in baseball than it is in football…
So you may get an NCAA bid handed to you by beating up on the pathetic ACC…
and: Clemson’s season will be a success if you can avoid a post-season match up vs SC…because you know that’ll just be another @$$=-whuppin…
You left out Obama…
The writer is a Gamecock through and through. Simply a good journalist who doesn’t let a rivalry blind his objective view.
Learn to spell before you start slamming someone else’s writing. Thanks.
How ’bout Learn to THINK…before you open you mouth…
Spelling can be learned (or corrected by spellcheck)…Your inability to think for yourself is a sign of a lack of intelligence.
If you are going to try to write worthy of an audience, you need to be smart enough to originate thought. Don’t just mimmick what other idiots tell you to write… They are failures for a reason…
Glad to see the Gamecocks are still whooping ass even though Ray Tanner isn’t coaching this year. Let’s get another championship under our belts!
Glad to see the Gamecocks are still whooping ass even though Ray Tanner isn’t coaching this year. Let’s get another championship under our belts!
My experience has shown me that the USC-J School teaches its minions a “Crap-in-your-own-nest” mentality as a way to show their “objectivity.”
Teddy Heffner, FITS, Bob Gillespie, K-Mac…etc…will break their necks to go easy on Clemson as primetime apologists.
No other SEC has a school that does this.
To me: any writer who practices the USC-J School ‘Watergate’ era journalism is just too stupid to figure it out..and realize that overly and w/o merit praising a sorry-@$$ Clemson team…is just poor thinking and analysis ability…
This clown is just another in a long line of dolts….
If you’re so talented, Great and Mighty Mr. Big T, maybe you should look into becoming a professor at the J-School. I’m sure all of the students down there could stand to learn a little something from you. I think your brand of objectivity and clear, level-headed analysis is exactly what these budding journalists (or minions, depending on how you look at them) need to jump-start their careers. You can tell everyone how wise you are by not subscribing to Watergate-era journalism, whatever that means. And you can tell them all about how much a team needs to accomplish before they deserve to be praised.
Thank you, Great and Mighty Mr. Big T, for your remarkably helpful comments. I can’t wait to see what gems you come up with in the future.
Maybe it is time to roll out the new conservative media outlet drowning the milquetoast voices of malcontent malaise.
If you’re so talented, Great and Mighty Mr. Big T, maybe you should look into becoming a professor at the J-School. I’m sure all of the students down there could stand to learn a little something from you. I think your brand of objectivity and clear, level-headed analysis is exactly what these budding journalists (or minions, depending on how you look at them) need to jump-start their careers. You can tell everyone how wise you are by not subscribing to Watergate-era journalism, whatever that means. And you can tell them all about how much a team needs to accomplish before they deserve to be objectively praised.
Thank you, Great and Mighty Mr. Big T, for your remarkably helpful comments. I can’t wait to see what gems you come up with in the future.
My experience has shown me that the USC-J School teaches its minions a “Crap-in-your-own-nest” mentality as a way to show their “objectivity.”
Teddy Heffner, FITS, Bob Gillespie, K-Mac…etc…will break their necks to go easy on Clemson as primetime apologists.
No other SEC has a school that does this.
To me: any writer who practices the USC-J School ‘Watergate’ era journalism is just too stupid to figure it out..and realize that overly and w/o merit praising a sorry-@$$ Clemson team…is just poor thinking and analysis ability…
This clown is just another in a long line of dolts….
If you’re so talented, Great and Mighty Mr. Big T, maybe you should look into becoming a professor at the J-School. I’m sure all of the students down there could stand to learn a little something from you. I think your brand of objectivity and clear, level-headed analysis is exactly what these budding journalists (or minions, depending on how you look at them) need to jump-start their careers. You can tell everyone how wise you are by not subscribing to Watergate-era journalism, whatever that means. And you can tell them all about how much a team needs to accomplish before they deserve to be praised.
Thank you, Great and Mighty Mr. Big T, for your remarkably helpful comments. I can’t wait to see what gems you come up with in the future.
Maybe it is time to roll out the new conservative media outlet drowning the milquetoast voices of malcontent malaise.
If you’re so talented, Great and Mighty Mr. Big T, maybe you should look into becoming a professor at the J-School. I’m sure all of the students down there could stand to learn a little something from you. I think your brand of objectivity and clear, level-headed analysis is exactly what these budding journalists (or minions, depending on how you look at them) need to jump-start their careers. You can tell everyone how wise you are by not subscribing to Watergate-era journalism, whatever that means. And you can tell them all about how much a team needs to accomplish before they deserve to be objectively praised.
Thank you, Great and Mighty Mr. Big T, for your remarkably helpful comments. I can’t wait to see what gems you come up with in the future.
BigT, if you want to discuss this piece man-to-man, I would be more than happy to do so. I would have no problem hearing what you found objectionable about the article. Feel free to contact me if you want to talk, I’d be happy to whenever is convenient for you. Thanks for reading the piece and for sharing your thoughts
You may need to get thicker skin. Challenging er’body who critiques your work may lead to a result that’s even worse. Anyway:
1) You wrote: “series ends with both teams’ fan bases feeling good,” If Clemson’s fan base feels good after another series loss to SC…they are stupid. You are writing a CLICHE….
2) You wrote: “but fans of both programs should be encouraged by what they saw over the last three days.”..Really? Jack Leggett is a veteran coach who has been getting his @$$ kicked by SC and Ray Tanner. Now Ray is gone…and the Rookie kicks his @$$ again. Cliché again.
3) You wrote: “”Gamecocks rallied …That kind of performance bodes well for a team that may face many such rubber matches this year. WHAT? Or Duh?…SC won’t face easy competition like a oft-beaten Clemson team in the SEC. You’re spouting more cliché.
4) You wrote: “Gamecock fans should savor this one because there won’t be many eight-run victories over the Tigers in the foreseeable future.” How the H#!! do you know that. I expect, based on what I’ve seen, Clemson will keep sinking and SC will stay on top. You’re just writing to fill space.
5) You wrote: “Based on the young stars Clemson trotted out this weekend, the Tigers will be trouble for South Carolina (and anyone else they play) in the coming years.” More mindless feel-good cliché. Clemson’s ‘young stars’ lost two games by a combined score of 14-0.
6) You wrote: “Looking down the road, though, Jack Leggett has to start turning the tide in this rivalry – which has become incredibly one-sided in recent years…Wait: If Tigers should FEEL GOOD and be ENCOURAGED ….Why do they need to Turn the Tide????…that would indicate they’ll FEEL BAD and be DISCOURAGED…based on what you said earlier.
7) You wrote: “Everyone in the state has now seen the talent Clemson has in its freshman class and Tiger fans are expecting big things from them in the future – including wins over USC and runs at national titles.” I did not see JACK, except the same ol’ inferior Tater team. They have NO reason to expect anything except for more falling short. The ACC has not won an NCAA title since the 50’s…Choking is what I expect from Clemson…especially vs a much better USC program…
I was not trying to challenge you, or anyone else. I simply wanted to see what parts of my article you disagreed with. As far as your points go, here’s how I would answer them.
1) I do believe that Clemson fans felt good after this series. Obviously, no one wants to lose, but it is clear that South Carolina is currently the superior program and Clemson is rebuilding. Clemson lost a midweek game to Winthrop last week and after Montgomery dominated them on Friday night, I thoroughly expected them to get swept. The fact that they picked themselves up off the mat on Saturday and outplayed USC was impressive to me.
2) USC fans saw their team win two games over its arch-rival in dominating fashion under a new coach. Clemson fans saw their team beat a top-10 ballclub and one of college baseball’s premier programs on a neutral field. I think those are encouraging signs for both fan bases.
3) I don’t believe that pointing out that South Carolina may play many series this season that come down to Sunday is a cliche. The fact that they played so well in a Sunday game with the series on the line should be encouraging for Gamecock fans.
4) I don’t know if USC will beat Clemson by eight runs in the next few years, but it would shock me if they did. I certainly didn’t write that sentence to fill space. I did so because it’s what I think.
5) Clemson did get beat 14-0 in two games, but I still feel their younger players have great potential. I was very impressed with the play of Schmidt, Duggar and Kreiger this weekend.
6) I expected Clemson to get swept by USC and the Tigers managed to win on Saturday in fairly convincing fashion. I believe that is a reason for Clemson fans to have some optimism for the future. However, Clemson has to get results.
7) You may not have seen what I saw this weekend, and that’s fine. I saw players for Clemson that could become a solid group in the next 1-2 years.
Ultimately, your opinion is not the same as mine, which is perfectly alright. I appreciate that you took the time to read my writing and to offer your thoughts. I see that you disagree with me on this issue, but that’s fine. I didn’t write anything that I thought was “mindless cliche” and I didn’t write to fill space. I also do not think that what I’ve written makes me a “clown,” “minion,” “dolt,” or anything else. I am a person who wrote an opinion. No more, no less. You have as much of a write to express your views as I do mine. Only time will tell who was correct.
Writing to not offend anyone…offends real writers.
I take the profession seriously. When I see someone doing it w/ no real purpose, or not saying anything of value…I will respond.
Columbia is full of wanna-be pundits who peddle cliche as if it has real meaning. FITS is a great example. Teddy Heffner is too. They think they look smart or big trying not to offend, even if it makes them look like poor analysts… They are Clemson apologists…which is what you are here.
How’ bout SAY SOMETHING unique, insightful and TRUE, instead of repeating feel-goodisms…
Compared to SC, Clemson is inferior. And I see no reason to think that program is improving. I’d be PO’ed if I were a Clemson fan.
I’m not sure how SC will do. I don’t think Clemson is a good measure. Clemson may be no better than Liberty…
Also: I see NO real sign of star talent on Clemson. To act as if you can tell much from USC besting Clemson – AGAIN- is difficult to support w/ logic.
I was asked to write what I thought and I did. You may think that my article had no purpose, but I will have to respectfully disagree. I also do not believe that my thoughts are cliche just because their differ from yours. I respect your opinion…I think the least you can do is respect mine.
As far as how the teams will do, I haven’t the slightest idea. South Carolina may go undefeated and win the national championship, or they may miss the NCAA tournament. No one knows what will happen. From what I saw this weekend, I belive they will have a very successful season.
I have no clue how Clemson’s season will turn out, either. I do believe that they have several young players who have the potential to be great. They may become major leaguers or they may struggle and be mediocre. I’m not claiming to know what will happen. I’m simply stating what I think.
If you heed, and react, to what I’ve told you..it will make you better.
If you think i’m just looking for something to whine about, I’ve wasted my effort.
Not only do you need to say something original and Insightful…it needs to be TRUE. Do that, and anyone else’s critique should not bother you.
Way too many sports writers (and talkers) in SC will not tell the truth, or maybe they don’t get it, when SC is substantially better than Clemson.
SC is superior in baseball, substantially, than Clemson. The same is true for football.
It could take a while for Clemson to catch up. And I see no evidence Clemson has a clue, or is making headway. But all we get are sports people telling us they are close. That’s just not evident.
I appreciate you telling me what you think, but I’m going to continue writing in my own style and in my own voice. Critques do not bother me and I am fine with people disliking things I have written or said. Once again, I thank you for sharing.
Which is worse? Writing to offend no one or writing to offend everyone?
In music which gets the message across better? Rap, Country, or Pop? Different strokes for different folks.
BigT, if you want to discuss this piece man-to-man, I would be more than happy to do so. I would have no problem hearing what you found objectionable about the article. Feel free to contact me if you want to talk, I’d be happy to whenever is convenient for you. Thanks for reading the piece and for sharing your thoughts
You may need to get thicker skin. Challenging er’body who critiques your work may lead to a result that’s even worse. Anyway:
1) You wrote: “series ends with both teams’ fan bases feeling good,” If Clemson’s fan base feels good after another series loss to SC…they are stupid. You are writing a CLICHE….
2) You wrote: “but fans of both programs should be encouraged by what they saw over the last three days.”..Really? Jack Leggett is a veteran coach who has been getting his @$$ kicked by SC and Ray Tanner. Now Ray is gone…and the Rookie kicks his @$$ again. Cliché again.
3) You wrote: “”Gamecocks rallied …That kind of performance bodes well for a team that may face many such rubber matches this year. WHAT? Or Duh?…SC won’t face easy competition like a oft-beaten Clemson team in the SEC. You’re spouting more cliché.
4) You wrote: “Gamecock fans should savor this one because there won’t be many eight-run victories over the Tigers in the foreseeable future.” How the H#!! do you know that. I expect, based on what I’ve seen, Clemson will keep sinking and SC will stay on top. You’re just writing to fill space.
5) You wrote: “Based on the young stars Clemson trotted out this weekend, the Tigers will be trouble for South Carolina (and anyone else they play) in the coming years.” More mindless feel-good cliché. Clemson’s ‘young stars’ lost two games by a combined score of 14-0.
6) You wrote: “Looking down the road, though, Jack Leggett has to start turning the tide in this rivalry – which has become incredibly one-sided in recent years…Wait: If Tigers should FEEL GOOD and be ENCOURAGED ….Why do they need to Turn the Tide????…that would indicate they’ll FEEL BAD and be DISCOURAGED…based on what you said earlier.
7) You wrote: “Everyone in the state has now seen the talent Clemson has in its freshman class and Tiger fans are expecting big things from them in the future – including wins over USC and runs at national titles.” I did not see JACK, except the same ol’ inferior Tater team. They have NO reason to expect anything except for more falling short. The ACC has not won an NCAA title since the 50’s…Choking is what I expect from Clemson…especially vs a much better USC program…
I was not trying to challenge you, or anyone else. I simply wanted to see what parts of my article you disagreed with. As far as your points go, here’s how I would answer them.
1) I do believe that Clemson fans felt good after this series. Obviously, no one wants to lose, but it is clear that South Carolina is currently the superior program and Clemson is rebuilding. Clemson lost a midweek game to Winthrop last week and after Montgomery dominated them on Friday night, I thoroughly expected them to get swept. The fact that they picked themselves up off the mat on Saturday and outplayed USC was impressive to me.
2) USC fans saw their team win two games over its arch-rival in dominating fashion under a new coach. Clemson fans saw their team beat a top-10 ballclub and one of college baseball’s premier programs on a neutral field. I think those are encouraging signs for both fan bases.
3) I don’t believe that pointing out that South Carolina may play many series this season that come down to Sunday is a cliche. The fact that they played so well in a Sunday game with the series on the line should be encouraging for Gamecock fans.
4) I don’t know if USC will beat Clemson by eight runs in the next few years, but it would shock me if they did. I certainly didn’t write that sentence to fill space. I did so because it’s what I think.
5) Clemson did get beat 14-0 in two games, but I still feel their younger players have great potential. I was very impressed with the play of Schmidt, Duggar and Kreiger this weekend.
6) I expected Clemson to get swept by USC and the Tigers managed to win on Saturday in fairly convincing fashion. I believe that is a reason for Clemson fans to have some optimism for the future. However, Clemson has to get results.
7) You may not have seen what I saw this weekend, and that’s fine. I saw players for Clemson that could become a solid group in the next 1-2 years.
Ultimately, your opinion is not the same as mine, which is perfectly alright. I appreciate that you took the time to read my writing and to offer your thoughts. I see that you disagree with me on this issue, but that’s fine. I didn’t write anything that I thought was “mindless cliche” and I didn’t write to fill space. I also do not think that what I’ve written makes me a “clown,” “minion,” “dolt,” or anything else. I am a person who wrote an opinion. No more, no less. You have as much of a write to express your views as I do mine. Only time will tell who was correct.
Writing to not offend anyone…offends real writers.
I take the profession seriously. When I see someone doing it w/ no real purpose, or not saying anything of value…I will respond.
Columbia is full of wanna-be pundits who peddle cliche as if it has real meaning. FITS is a great example. Teddy Heffner is too. They think they look smart or big trying not to offend, even if it makes them look like poor analysts… They are Clemson apologists…which is what you are here.
How’ bout SAY SOMETHING unique, insightful and TRUE, instead of repeating feel-goodisms…
Compared to SC, Clemson is inferior. And I see no reason to think that program is improving. I’d be PO’ed if I were a Clemson fan.
I’m not sure how SC will do. I don’t think Clemson is a good measure. Clemson may be no better than Liberty…
Also: I see NO real sign of star talent on Clemson. To act as if you can tell much from USC besting Clemson – AGAIN- is difficult to support w/ logic.
I was asked to write what I thought and I did. You may think that my article had no purpose, but I will have to respectfully disagree. I also do not believe that my thoughts are cliche just because their differ from yours. I respect your opinion…I think the least you can do is respect mine.
As far as how the teams will do, I haven’t the slightest idea. South Carolina may go undefeated and win the national championship, or they may miss the NCAA tournament. No one knows what will happen. From what I saw this weekend, I belive they will have a very successful season.
I have no clue how Clemson’s season will turn out, either. I do believe that they have several young players who have the potential to be great. They may become major leaguers or they may struggle and be mediocre. I’m not claiming to know what will happen. I’m simply stating what I think.
If you heed, and react, to what I’ve told you..it will make you better.
If you think i’m just looking for something to whine about, I’ve wasted my effort.
Not only do you need to say something original and Insightful…it needs to be TRUE. Do that, and anyone else’s critique should not bother you.
Way too many sports writers (and talkers) in SC will not tell the truth, or maybe they don’t get it, when SC is substantially better than Clemson.
SC is superior in baseball, substantially, than Clemson. The same is true for football.
It could take a while for Clemson to catch up. And I see no evidence Clemson has a clue, or is making headway. But all we get are sports people telling us they are close. That’s just not evident.
I appreciate you telling me what you think, but I’m going to continue writing in my own style and in my own voice. Critques do not bother me and I am fine with people disliking things I have written or said. Once again, I thank you for sharing.
Which is worse? Writing to offend no one or writing to offend everyone?
In music which gets the message across better? Rap, Country, or Pop? Different strokes for different folks.
The change in bats has made college baseball suck. What a snooze.
see this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r216GoJHVlE
The change in bats has made college baseball suck. What a snooze.
see this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r216GoJHVlE
Jack Leggett sucks and is ruining Clemson baseball. SC baseball is not as strong as it has been either.
Jack Leggett sucks and is ruining Clemson baseball. SC baseball is not as strong as it has been either.
Two National Championships and another Runner Up in three years………and cLIMPson.
Interesting article?
Two National Championships and another Runner Up in three years………and cLIMPson.
Interesting article?
Excellent piece,Mr Lane.Now, if we can get some investigative reporting on where Big T gets his LSD…
Excellent piece,Mr Lane.Now, if we can get some investigative reporting on where Big T gets his LSD…
Jacks twice the man that pos Holdbrook is and has the record to prove it. tanner has been a cheater since the getgo and all involve knows it. we got the young bucks like showed on saturday and the years of ass whipping will resume sdhortly.
Jacks twice the man that pos Holdbrook is and has the record to prove it. tanner has been a cheater since the getgo and all involve knows it. we got the young bucks like showed on saturday and the years of ass whipping will resume sdhortly.
one more time….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI93w0OV6D8
go cocks!!!
one more time….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI93w0OV6D8
go cocks!!!
USC vs USC Upstate-12/3
USC vs Davidson-12/4
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/03/11/red-sox-spring-training-report-for-monday-march/cuPTGLsl0511JAWNuDGmwL/story.html
USC vs USC Upstate-12/3
USC vs Davidson-12/4
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/03/11/red-sox-spring-training-report-for-monday-march/cuPTGLsl0511JAWNuDGmwL/story.html