Clarke Schmidt relished first start as South Carolina baseball’s ace

Through the offseason, Clarke Schmidt craved the role of being South Carolina baseball’s frontline starter. Friday, he got his first taste of it in the Gamecocks’ opener against Albany.

The early returns were promising.

The sophomore hurler struck out six, while allowing three hits and one run in the 10-1 win. He needed 74 pitches to complete six innings after taking the ball in a spot he’d looked forward to for a long time.

“I totally wanted it,” Schmidt said. “Ever since I left campus last year going into the offseason, that was my No. 1 goal.

“To take that rein and be that leader on this team, I think all the hard work that I put in over the offseason and everything I’ve done up to this point, it showed.”

He’s coming off a debut campaign in which he made 10 starts and worked out of the bullpen.

His coach, Chad Holbrook, left the game with the feeling he could do even better. Holbrook noted Schmidt walked four and wasn’t quite as crisp as he’s been during the lead-up to the season. But the coach also saw something else in his top arm.

“He’s much more confident,” Holbrook said. “He’s just got a demeanor about him. Went through it last year, and ‘I didn’t know what to expect. But I know what to expect now and I can handle it.’ I think that’s his attitude and mentality.

“His stuff’s better too.”

Not quite full

Friday marked the first time since 2010 the Gamecocks didn’t draw a crowd of more than 8,000 for the season opener. Announced attendance was 7,434.

Weather was a slightly chilly 61 degrees at first pitch, and the crowd thinned as the night wore on and South Carolina pulled away.

After the game, Holbrook hoped his team could get more from the fans, especially in high-pressure moments.

“A couple times I could hear a pin drop in there,” Holbrook said. “This place is built on passion, energy and enthusiasm. Our fans can make it extremely hard on our opponents, but I think today our fans kind of just wanted to see what we had and just sat there and watched us.”

The 2010 opener drew 6,380.

Firing lasers

Although the weather was chilly, freshman right fielder T.J. Hopkins’ arm seemed plenty warm in his collegiate debut.

In the third inning, he picked off Kyle Sacks when he ventured too far off first on a lineout (though first baseman Alex Destino took the worst of Sacks’ slide, was down for a moment and eventually stayed in the game). Then in the third, he gunned out Karson Canaday, who was trying to stretch a double into a triple.

The two outfield assists tied the school record.

Settled backstop

The Gamecocks coaches came down to the wire deciding who would make the first start at catcher. Three players battled for the position before junior college transfer John Jones got the first shot.

Jones didn’t know down to the final hours before first pitch.

“I actually found out I was going to start right after our pregame meal,” Jones said. “I was just kind of playing it by ear.”

Signed up

The outfield scoreboard had a new sign at the top announcing it as Founders Park. The naming partnership was announced in October and the stadium will be officially dedicated April 22.

Wild opponent

Albany starter Stephen Woods came in with a solid pedigree as a former sixth-round draft pick. He was hitting 93 miles an hour consistently, and after the game, Holbrook said there was an array of high-level scouts in the building to watch him.

But control issues did Woods in.

He walked three, threw three wild pitches and was chased after 3 1/3 innings. Nearly half the pitches he threw were balls.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 8:52 PM with the headline "Clarke Schmidt relished first start as South Carolina baseball’s ace."