Clemson Head Baseball Coach Erik Bakich Takes Shot At South Carolina Fanbase Over Postseason Jokes

Andrew Lyon | May 28, 2024

Clemson senior Blake Wright(8) tags out South Carolina sophomore Ethan Petry (20) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in a game that resulted in a 5-4 win against South Carolina in Clemson Sunday, March 3, 2024. / MCKENZIE LANGE/ Staff / USA TODAY

There are few rivalries in college sports that are more intense than the Palmetto Series between South Carolina and Clemson, especially in college baseball. The Tigers own the bragging rights as far as the series record is concerned, but the Gamecocks get the last laugh regarding overall postseason success. Since Carolina knocked Clemson out of the College World Series in 2010, a season that was part of the Gamecocks back-to-back national title run, they've made it at least to the Super Regional round six times. On the other hand, their archrivals haven't made it to one.

That dark cloud has hung over Clemson for several years, to the point where second-year head coach was asked after his team was named the No. 6 overall national seed for the NCAA Tournament on Monday afternoon how he deals with it and makes sure it doesn't affect his players' psyche. Let's just say he had a pretty poignant response.

"Everyone wants to talk about that. And the people who bring that up over and over and over and over and over again, those are called Gamecocks. You know, those aren't Clemson fans. That's South Carolina's fan base that loves to troll. So whatever. I mean, you know, they've got bragging rights because of what they accomplished a decade ago. And that's fine -- We have to go out and do it. But you know, if you're going to start looking in history books, then go back to the mid-90s and the early 2000s in the coach [Jack] Legget heyday, go back to coach [Bill] Wilhelm's days. This is a blue blood program with plenty of rich history and tradition. And you know, if Clemson baseball truly is back, then we've got to go out and earn it on the field."

It's a shame that South Carolina isn't heading up to the upstate for Regional play because it only would've made the postseason so much juicier for both teams. The only way each squad would meet up with one another would be if they were to advance to the College World Series, which would invoke dreams and nightmares for South Carolina and Clemson, respectively.

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