Tigers Face South Carolina Today

The Series vs. South Carolina
Clemson and South Carolina have met 263 times on the baseball diamond, with Clemson holding a 155-106-2 lead in the series dating back to 1899. South Carolina is Clemson's most-played rival in history.

Clemson won three of four games during the 2003 season, with Clemson splitting the two games in Columbia. South Carolina leads the series in games played at Columbia 67-62-2, even though the Tigers have won 10 of the last 14 games in the capital city.

Leggett is 20-15 against South Carolina as the Tiger skipper and 23-23 overall. He is also 11-6 against South Carolina at Sarge Frye Field. Clemson is also 4-5 against South Carolina under Head Coach Jack Leggett when the Gamecocks are ranked in the top five. Leggett, in his 11th season as Clemson's head coach, is 57-30 (.655) against the SEC.

Starting Pitchers
South Carolina will start junior righthander Billy Buckner (2-0, 3.77 ERA) today. The Conyers, GA native has struck out 18 and walked just one in 14.1 innings pitched this year.

Clemson will counter with sophomore righthander Jason Berken (1-0, 0.00 ERA). The De Pere, WI native pitched 6.0 shutout innings against Georgia Southern last weekend in his only outing of 2004. He allowed just two hits and no walks while striking out seven Eagles.

South Carolina Overview
South Carolina enters the game Saturday with a 10-0 record, including a 7-4 win over Furman Wednesday night. The Gamecocks are hitting .392 as a team and holding their opponents to a .159 batting average. They have also outscored their opponents 126-15. Brendan Winn leads the team with a .567 batting average, while he also has four homers and 17 RBIs. Steve Pearce is second with a .526 batting average, but he leads the squad with seven home runs and 22 RBIs. The Gamecock pitching staff has a 1.43 ERA. The staff has struck out 120 and allowed just 14 walks. Chad Blackwell has four saves and has yet to allow a hit, run, or walk while striking out 12 in 7.0 innings pitched. South Carolina also sports a spectacular .989 fielding percentage, as it has committed just four errors in 10 games.