Siblings find success pitching at Carolina, Clemson
Whoever came up with “House Divided” merchandise clearly had the Sarratt family in mind.
Sure enough, you can find a “House Divided” flag for South Carolina and Clemson in the front yard of the family’s home in Gaffney, S.C.
The Sarratt household takes the Palmetto State Rivalry to a whole new level. Justin Sarratt is a pitcher and a co-captain on the Clemson baseball team, while his younger sister, Julie Sarratt, is a star pitcher for the USC softball squad.
Things might be complicated for the Sarratts now, but it wasn’t always like that.
“We were Gamecock fans all our life, and then my brother surprised everybody when he chose Clemson. So we kind of switched to there,” said Julie Sarratt, a true freshman. “Now I’ve kind of switched us back a little bit.”
The sibling rivalry between Justin and Julie may be stronger than ever, but they’ve also never been closer. The two lean on each other for support in their respective careers.
Before Julie Sarratt’s first collegiate game against Coastal Carolina, Justin Sarratt sent her text messages he knew would build her up. After all, he had been a freshman pitcher once, too.
The messages must have had an impact; Julie Sarratt pitched a complete-game no-hitter in her college debut that day, leading USC to a 5-0 victory.
After, Justin Sarratt didn’t have as much to say.
“I just told her, ‘Congratulations. That’s awesome,’” said Justin Sarratt, who is working toward a graduate degree. “I was leaving the field, and I heard about it, but I just couldn’t believe it. I thought that was awesome.”
Julie Sarratt, who earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors for her performance, didn’t just impress her older brother but also her new coach.
“Her presence on the mound was fantastic. She stayed ahead of hitters, she had good composure, she knew what she wanted to throw in situations with certain batters and she just did a great job working the counts,” USC coach Beverly Smith said. “I think it was about the fifth inning that I looked up at the scoreboard and saw that there were no hits for Coastal, and that’s when I started to kind of feel something special could be happening.”
Something special was happening for the Gamecocks. While they would fall to Winthrop in Julie Sarratt’s second start, it was a game riddled with errors. She would go on to pitch a complete-game shutout in her next start against Florida Gulf Coast in the Florida Gulf Coast University Tournament.
Furthermore, in the tournament, Julie Sarratt had a pinch-hit double to lead a comeback against Villanova when the Gamecocks were down 4-1. USC won the game 5-4. Four days after the shutout against FGCU, Sarratt pitched six more scoreless innings at Charlotte to pick up the win.
Through the early part of the SEC schedule, Julie Sarratt leads the team with 37 strikeouts and has a 3.93 ERA. In her appearances at the plate, she has a .262 batting average with seven RBIs and two home runs.
The freshman has been nothing short of impressive, and she hasn’t lost sight of the person who has been an inspiration to her all her life.
“I’ve always looked up to him, even when I was younger,” said Julie Sarratt of her brother. “Seeing him go through everything, go through college — I knew that I wanted to be at that level, too. I’ve kind of got to watch him go through everything and learn from him. I knew what to expect coming in here, so he’s definitely helped and encouraged me the whole way.”
For Julie Sarratt, getting the chance to play at the collegiate level like her brother was a dream come true, especially at USC.
“I’m from South Carolina, so it’s every little girl’s dream to go big, and the SEC — you can’t beat it,” she said. “The competition is crazy, so just to have the opportunity to go here is really exciting.”
As for Justin Sarratt, who is 1-1 this season with a 1.35 ERA in seven appearances, there were no hard feelings when his little sister chose to go to his school’s rival.
“I told her before she ever made the decision that she had to do what was best for her, and that’s what she did,” he said. “I did what was best for me, and I told her to do the exact same thing. Carolina was the best thing for her, and I support her decision 100 percent.”
While the siblings might support each other regardless of what school they’re playing for, there is still the issue of the rivalry during football, which can lead to some tense moments around Thanksgiving.
“There was a little back and forth this year, but thank goodness we came out on the good side,” Julie Sarratt said. “I kind of got to rub it in, just a little bit.”