JBJ’s ‘heated bat’ and other memorable moments from the USC-Clemson baseball series
South Carolina and Clemson have played some incredible baseball games since 2000, including a handful in the postseason. Here is a look at some of the best moments in the rivalry.
April 20, 2000 - Clemson led South Carolina 7-5 entering the ninth inning when Trey Dyson blasted a two-run homer to send the game into extra innings. After Clemson took a one-run lead in the 11th, Dyson hit an RBI double, his third extra-base hit of the day, to send the game to the 12th. Marcos Rios, a backup catcher for the Gamecocks, hit a walk-off single in the 12th to give USC a 9-8 win and series sweep.
March 3, 2002 - Clemson won the first two games of the season series on back-to-back nights with the second win coming in dramatic fashion. The Tigers earned an 11-10 walk-off victory when Kyle Frank scored from first base on a hit to center by Khalil Greene. USC’s center fielder made an error on the play, allowing Frank to score.
June 2002 - Clemson earned the series win in the regular season, but South Carolina got the best of the Tigers when it mattered most. Clemson and USC met in the College World Series with the Tigers needing one win in two tries to advance to the national title game. Instead, the Gamecocks dominated the two games, earning 12-4 and 10-2 victories to advance to face Texas.
2003 - Michael Johnson destroyed South Carolina pitching during his four seasons playing for the Tigers. He hit 10 home runs in 16 games against the Gamecocks, including one in each of his final three games against USC. Johnson and the Tigers won the season series 3-1 in 2003 behind the senior’s home runs.
2008 - South Carolina and Clemson have played at least three times every year since 2001. There have only been two sweeps during that time and one came in 2008. The Gamecocks outscored Clemson 28-3 over the four-game series, including a 6-0 win over the Tigers at Clemson in the final game. USC outfielder Harley Lail caught the final out of Game 4 at Clemson and held up four fingers towards the Cajun Café after Carolina finished off the 4-0 sweep.
June 2010 - It was a repeat of 2002 as Clemson won the regular season series, only to see the Gamecocks earn a pair of wins over the Tigers in Omaha to advance to the national championship series. This time South Carolina finished the job by defeating UCLA to win its first national title.
March 6, 2011 - South Carolina outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. hit an opposite-field home run during the first inning of the game at Clemson, leading Tigers coach Jack Leggett to come out of the dugout and ask umpires to check Bradley Jr.’s bat. Gamecocks coach Ray Tanner had a problem with Leggett accusing USC of heating bats. “"I didn't appreciate it, I'm offended by it. I don't cheat," Tanner said. "We had to put up with some shenanigans." USC went on to win the series 2-1 and earned another national title later that season.
June 2012 - South Carolina and Clemson met in a regional in Columbia in 2012. The two teams played a pair of great games with USC coming out on top in close contests. The Gamecocks earned a 5-4 win in Game 1 as LB Dantzler hit a walk-off single in the 12th inning. The next day, USC earned another one-run victory, jumping ahead 4-0 through the top of the sixth and hanging on for a 4-3 win.
March 2, 2015 - Clemson pitcher Brody Koerner finished his college career with an ERA of 7.00 and went 4-5 with a 7.55 ERA in 2015. But he had an incredible performance in Game 3 of the series against South Carolina in 2015 that helped the Tigers turn around the rivalry. Clemson had not won the season series with USC since 2006 before Koerner pitched a complete-game shutout against the Gamecocks in Columbia, leading the Tigers to a 7-0 win in the rubber match.
March 5, 2017 - South Carolina was one strike away from clinching the season series with the Tigers when All-American Seth Beer blasted a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right field for a home run in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game at 3-3. The Tigers went on to win in extra innings and earn the series victory over USC for the third consecutive year.
This story was originally published March 1, 2018 at 12:52 PM with the headline "JBJ’s ‘heated bat’ and other memorable moments from the USC-Clemson baseball series."