What: South Carolina v. Clemson

Where: Doug Kingsmore Stadium, Clemson, SC; Sarge Frye Field, Columbia, SC

When: Saturday, March 12th, 2:00 p.m.; Sun. March 13th, 1:30 p.m.

Tickets: Limited availability for Saturday's game in Clemson; Sunday's game in Columbia is sold out.

The 2005 baseball season kicks into high gear this weekend as South Carolina faces arch-rival Clemson in a home-and-home series beginning Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in the Upstate. The two teams will play Sunday in Columbia at 1:30 p.m.

"It's a great rivalry," USC head coach Ray Tanner said. "It's exciting to kick off the season when we get to play the two games. Coach Leggett and I have both said for many years that our rivalry is as good as anybody's. Everybody wants to pits us against each other but we have a lot of respect for each other. We battle as hard as anyone."

Here how the two teams shape up heading into one of the biggest college baseball weekends of the season:

SOUTH CAROLINA (13-1)

After mashing opponents for most of the early part of the season, USC found a new way to win Wednesday, with strong pitching and not much offense. Six singles were enough in the 1-0 victory over Charleston Southern.

Despite the off night Wednesday, USC has hit the ball well so far. USC is averaging nearly 10 runs per game through 14 games. Six regulars are hitting .385 or better, led by Jon Willard (.476-3-11) and Steve Tolleson (.463-1-19). Steve Pearce, the best pure hitter on the club, has a .438 BA with 3 HR and 17 RBI.

Brendan Winn, who sat out Wednesday's victory over Charleston Southern because of a sore back, tops USC with seven home runs and 20 RBI. He is expected to play this weekend after a couple of days off and undergoing treatment.

"I know he wants to be in there," Tanner said. "He's a senior. If the doctors give him the OK and he wants to play, I'm going to play him, even if he's not 100 percent. I would never take a game like this away from the older guys."

Ray Tanner will call upon his top two pitchers this weekend. Aaron Rawl (3-1, 2.25 ERA), steady as always, is the perfect choice to hurl Saturday's game in Clemson as his substantial experience will allow him to pitch effectively in front of the hostile crowd.

"When you're out there (on the mound) you don't pay any attention to it," Rawl said. "When you're warming up and you're right next to them you hear it but it's the same here. Either way, you have to zone it out. There's been some good ballgames. We both respect each other."

Zac McCamie (4-0, 2.05 ERA), 11-0 in his career at USC, will get the start Sunday. He has allowed only 17 hits and struck out 23 in 22.0 IP.

CLEMSON (5-5)

The Tigers are coming off an 8-2 loss at home Wednesday to Winthrop that dropped them to the .500 level. struggling, with three losses in their last four games. Clemson has played a difficult and challenging schedule, with games against East Carolina, California-Irvine (3 games), Auburn (3 games) and Winthrop.

"We're looking forward to (the weekend)" Clemson head coach Jack Leggett said. "We're trying to get our rhythm and this would be a good time to start. We're playing a good team. They've been playing well and have a lot of confidence going. But we know we're a good baseball team too. It will be a good matchup."

Both the offense and defense have suffered breakdowns for the Tigers. Only two regulars are hitting above .300. LF Tyler Colvin is batting .414 (12-for-29) with no homers and 2 RBI, while 2B Taylor Harbin is batting .381. Andy D'Alessio, who came into the season as one of Clemson's best power hitters, is batting a lowly .133 with 3 homers and 10 RBI. He was benched for a game at Auburn last weekend before responding with a pair of homers Sunday. D'Alessio does have a .385 career BA against USC.

The pitching has been adequate, as evidenced by the team ERA of 4.55. Saturday's starter, junior Josh Cribb is 1-0 with a 2.76 ERA. He's allowed 22 hits in 16.1 IP. Kris Harvey (2-1, 5.17 ERA) has been tabbed by Leggett for the start Sunday despite an inflated ERA.

Clemson's defense has been solid, with just 10 errors in the first 10 games for a .975 fielding pct., which is four points ahead of the single season mark for best fielding percentage (.971). The good defense means the Tigers have kept the unearned runs to a minimum.

"We've been playing very good defense," Leggett said. "I can't complain at all about our defense. I hope that continues. All we need to do is be consistent with our hitting from top to bottom so we know what we're going to get. Part of that is we're young, part of it is due to the fact we've played good competition, and part of it is making smart decisions. We're getting there."

Make no mistake, despite the .500 record, Clemson is still a quality baseball team and quite capable of shocking USC and sweeping the weekend if the Gamecocks don't play well. Tanner, for one, doesn't buy into the talk that the Clemson program has slipped.

"I don't think that's the case," Tanner said. "They've played on the road early in the season and those things (losses) are going to happen. When all is said and done they will be a team going to the post-season. It doesn't make any difference in this series anyways. It's a rivalry situation. We know their personnel. They're good. They've lost a couple of close games that could have gone either way. The records don't make a difference."

PITCHING MATCHUPS:

Sat. 3/12 – 2:00 p.m. – Aaron Rawl (3-1) v. Josh Cribb (1-0)

Sun. 3/13 – 1:30 p.m. – Zac McCamie (4-0) v. Kris Harvey (2-1)

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS:

SOUTH CAROLINA

C-Cory Vanderhook

1B-Neil Giesler

2B-Chris Brown

3B-Steve Pearce

SS-Steve Tolleson

LF-Davy Gregg

CF-Michael Campbell

RF-Brendan Winn

DH-Jon Willard

CLEMSON

C-Adrian Casanova

1B-Andy D'Alessio

2B-Taylor Harbin

3B-Herman Demmink

SS-Stan Widmann

LF-Tyler Colvin

CF-Brad Chalk or David Williams

RF-Travis Storrer

DH-Kris Harvey

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