USC-Clemson baseball opener postponed. Here’s how teams will get 3-game series in

Matt Connolly
·2 min read

The opening game for one of the best rivalries in college baseball will have to wait.

Game 1 of the Palmetto State rivalry between South Carolina and Clemson — scheduled for Friday evening at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson — has been postponed due to rain.

The series opener between the two teams will now take place Saturday afternoon at Fluor Field in Greenville. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. The Tigers and Gamecocks will then meet in Columbia on Sunday in the second and final game of the series — for now.

The game at Clemson will be played May 11.

Gamecocks coach Mark Kingston said Thursday that if a game is postponed over the weekend, the plan is for it to be made up later in the year.

“The goal is to try to get each game in as scheduled at the sites that they are scheduled at. If we cannot do that because of weather, then we’ll have to push something back deeper into the season,” Kingston said. “Our goal for both squads is that we end up playing three games regardless. So if a game gets canceled this week we’ll do everything we can to still try to play three against each other.”

USC and Clemson are both off to strong starts this season.

South Carolina enters the weekend 4-0, while the Tigers are 3-0. The Gamecocks are ranked as high as No. 16, while Clemson is ranked No. 22 by Collegiate Baseball.

There was no immediate word on when the USC at Clemson game will be made up. Both teams never have more than one midweek game scheduled at a time this season, which should give the Gamecocks and Tigers some options during the week.

“There’s a couple open dates that we both have that we could look at, and if we have to cross that bridge we will,” Kingston said.

SOUTH CAROLINA-CLEMSON BASEBALL 2021

Who: No. 17 South Carolina (4-0) vs. Clemson (3-0)

When: 4 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Saturday — Fluor Field, Greenville; Sunday — Founders Park, Columbia

Watch: Streaming online on ACC Network Extra on Friday, SEC Network Plus on Saturday and Sunday