Byrnes product Gossett gaining swagger at Clemson

Daniel Gossett had a team-best 87 strikeouts as freshman last season for Clemson.

Published: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 9:37 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 9:37 p.m.

Clemson pitcher Daniel Gossett spent his first collegiate season like so many other freshmen, simply trying to find a niche and survive the season even as the normal first-year doubts crept in.



Clemson hosts William & Mary for a season-opening three-game series beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, with Byrnes product Daniel Gossett starting on the mound. Patrick Andrews is likely to start Saturday's 2 p.m. game and Scott Firth should go for Sunday's 1 p.m. start.

The former Byrnes standout proved to himself and anybody watching that he possesses the goods to be an elite pitcher, and now survival mode gives way to a highly confident sophomore.

The 20-year-old righty impressed enough to earn the role as opening day starter when the Tigers host William & Mary at 4 p.m. on Friday. It's a day Gossett has dreamed about since attending games at Doug Kingsmore Stadium when he was 8 years old.

“My parents used to get season tickets and we'd come up here as often as possible and I always wanted to be the Friday night guy,” Gossett said Tuesday in meeting with the media. “I'm not saying I am going to be the Friday night guy, I'm just trying to get this first one under my belt.

“It's something I'd like to keep doing and it's a coveted spot so I know I'm going to have to keep working hard to maintain it. We've got a bunch of good guys and if I'm not doing my job and winning I will be replaced fairly quickly.”

Gossett's thinking long term, but the immediate gratification of being the first arm out of the gate isn't lost on him.

“It's a huge honor and I'm trying not to think too deeply into it. I know if I get inside my own head that's where I become my own worst enemy. I'm very grateful for it. It's obviously exciting but you just have to take it as one more game. You can't think of it as something super-important but another game we need to win. It will be a typical big opening day Clemson crowd so there will be some more pressure, but I feel if I just concentrate and do my thing out there it will be a good game.”

Gossett finished last season 6-3 with a 4.32 ERA while striking out a team-leading 87 in 77 innings. He started 10 games among his 19 appearances, holding opponents to a .221 batting average. A 16th-round draft selection by Boston in 2011, Gossett worked feverishly on developing his change-up to add to his impressive repertoire, but his main intention is mostly being a new man on the mental side of the equation.

Monday evening, Gossett said he laid awake in bed for three hours just envisioning what the boost in self-belief he achieved following last year's early success can mean to his overall performance. The biggest jolt came from his final outing of the season, when he held defending champion and second-ranked South Carolina to two runs on four hits while striking out eight over seven innings in a loss at the NCAA Regional.

“It's a little bit of a confidence boost knowing I've done it before so why can't I do it again,” Gossett said. “It's a different attitude coming back this year. It's not the freshman attitude of how am I going to do this, how am I going to fit in. I know I can fit in, know I can stay alive, now I'm ready to compete and get things done.

“I've been thinking about the different aspects of pitching. Not just the physical or mental things, but thinking about how much attitude could help me. I've got more confident thinking about going out there and competing and not just trying to survive. That's something new I'm trying this year and hopefully it will work out for me.”

It's not hard to decipher just how abundantly his confidence has grown in his quick reply to what was the biggest lesson learned as a freshman.

“I learned you can't give college hitters too much credit. I know it sounds weird or arrogant, but anybody as a pitcher you can't try and be too perfect, you've got your stuff and what makes you, you, and you just have to be confident in using that. You can't try and become something different because you're facing different-level hitters. I can see the differences in how I am now and you have to be confident. If you're up there throwing scared it will affect your mechanics and your mindset.”


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