Clarke Schmidt confident in new role as Gamecocks’ ace

Clarke Schmidt’s freshman numbers might not seem like much, but the experience he gained could prove to be valuable as he prepares for his new role as South Carolina’s ace.

Schmidt finished last season 2-2 with a 4.81 ERA. He made 10 starts, with three of those coming against No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 4 Vanderbilt.

The Georgia native did not earn a win in those three outings, but he now knows what it’s like to face off against some of the top lineups in college baseball. Following an offseason of hard work, Schmidt is confident in his ability to perform at a high level as USC’s Friday-night starter.

“It helped a ton. Pitching against teams like LSU and Vandy, when you’re in those positions as a freshman, it kind of blows you back a little bit,” he said. “It mentally prepares you for this year, so I’m ready to get after it.”

Schmidt said he spent most of the offseason working to make his legs stronger, while also trying to polish himself as a pitcher.

He was USC’s best pitcher this fall, and carried that over into preseason scrimmages in January and February. South Carolina coach Chad Holbrook sees a noticeable difference in the right-hander.

“Clarke Schmidt has stood out. He’s been a guy that is much improved from a year ago,” Holbrook said. “Obviously, he has weekend experience. He has a great arm, great demeanor, great work ethic, great competitor.”

Following the 2015 season, Schmidt made it his goal to improve enough to be USC’s ace. Now that he has secured the job, he’s focused on performing well. He said he doesn’t feel any extra pressure despite knowing that he’ll face the other team’s best pitcher.

“Everyone knows that if you’re on the weekend, you’ve just got to give your team a chance to win. Last year, I felt like that was my goal every time,” he said. “We know it’s a new team, a new year, and we can do anything we want to if we play the way we can.”

USC would like to get off to a strong start after missing the NCAA tournament last season for the first time since 1999.

Schmidt will have the opportunity to start Carolina off with a win in the season opener against Albany on Friday at 4 p.m. Braden Webb will start Saturday and Taylor Widener on Sunday.

“I think that is the biggest thing for us is to try to get off to a good start because the way we ended last year wasn’t the way we wanted to,” Schmidt said. “If we get the ball rolling fast from the beginning, I think it’ll just give us that momentum we need.”

This story was originally published February 15, 2016 at 6:05 PM.