Baseball newcomers ready for first taste of USC-Clemson rivalry

Dom Thompson-Williams knew nothing about the South Carolina-Clemson rivalry when he arrived on the east coast from Iowa this summer. It did not take him long to get educated on the series.

Thompson-Williams was visiting with catcher Hunter Taylor and his family in Virginia when talk of the Tigers came up. Taylor’s family offered some sound advice for Thompson-Williams before he headed south to Columbia.

“They said right away about Clemson, ‘Don’t even wear orange,’” he recalled, before admitting he had to redo his wardrobe. “I had a lot of orange from high school.”

Thompson-Williams is one of at least five newcomers who is expected to be in the starting lineup for the Gamecocks when they face Clemson in a three-game series, beginning Friday night at Founders Park.

John Jones, Chris Cullen, Thompson-Williams and Jonah Bride lead USC in hitting. The four are from Florida, Georgia, Iowa and Oklahoma respectively.

South Carolina coach Chad Holbrook said despite having several key players from out of state, his newcomers understand how important this weekend is.

“They’ve seen some of these games in the past in the NCAA tournament or the College World Series. Even though you’re not from this state I think our kids’ ears have been perked up this week,” Holbrook said. “They know it’s a big series. I don’t have to say anything about it to those guys, whether they’re from this state or not.”

USC’s coach may not have to mention the importance of this weekend to his team, but the newcomers have spoken with the veterans about what they can expect.

Carolina ace Clarke Schmidt has offered advice to several teammates but said it is hard to put into words what it is like to play in the series.

“They’ve been asking questions like, ‘What’s it like?’” Schmidt said. “I think they know what to expect, but it’s hard to know what to expect until you get out here and you feel that atmosphere walking out of the tunnel. It’s a pretty crazy feeling.”

Carolina first baseman Alex Destino, a sophomore from North Carolina who was in this position last year, said there is nothing like the USC-Clemson rivalry in college baseball.

He visited USC as a junior for one of the games and was blown away by what he saw.

“That was kind of my wakeup call,” Destino said. “I had never experienced anything like that for college baseball, so that was pretty cool.”

Destino said playing in the series took the experience to another level.

“It lived up to the hype last year. It was an unbelievable atmosphere in all three stadiums we played in. It was a lot of fun,” he said. “We try to treat every (series) the same, but it’s a little different when Clemson’s in town… Seeing the team in orange it’s definitely a little different.”

This story was originally published March 3, 2016 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Baseball newcomers ready for first taste of USC-Clemson rivalry."