GREENVILLE, S.C. — Clemson baseball fell to No. 23 South Carolina 11-9 in game two of the rivalry series on Saturday afternoon at Fluor Field.
Considered by many to be one of the hottest rivalries in college sports, the Tigers and Gamecocks put on an impressive back-and-forth showing.
Clemson used its plate power and extensive pitching rotation to show out once again against the Gamecocks. After four scoreless innings, the plate heated up in the fifth when a two-RBI double by first baseman Chad Fairey finally put Clemson on the board. Fairey himself eventually ran home to lead 3-0. However, a detrimental seventh and eighth inning set the Tigers too far back to a point where they could not recover.
True freshman Tristan Smith started for the Tigers, throwing five strikeouts and allowing just two hits in his 4.2 innings. Smith was relieved by fellow freshman Joe Allen during the fifth. He pitched for part of the sixth as well, where he allowed the Gamecocks to respond with an RBI double to tie the game up at 3-3.
In the defining seventh inning, infielder Blake Wright continued to prove his dominant presence this season, but it was still not enough. Wright brought in two more runs after a Cooper Ingle RBI to return the lead to Clemson, and freshman Cam Cannarella crossed home plate in the same inning to end the top of the seventh 7-3.
The Gamecocks responded with a vengeance, though. They earned five runs after four more Tigers appeared on the mound once Allen was relieved in the sixth. Clemson fell further behind in the eighth as South Carolina delivered three runs to finish up the game. Despite scoring twice in the ninth to close the gap, Clemson still lost by two. The Tigers racked up a total of nine runs on their 12 hits for the day.
“In the first four innings, you would have never thought that it was going to be 20 runs to be scored in that game,” said head coach Eric Bakich following the game.
As a result, sophomore Jay Dill was charged with the loss, given that he let up four runs as he closed out for the Tigers.
Bakich said it was the six walks and four hit-by-pitches that were “pretty damaging blows” to Clemson’s field situation.
As for Smith, his teammates acknowledged his strong start as a pitcher and said that it gave them the encouragement they needed to start putting points on the board.
“That was great to see somebody who puts in an awful lot of work — somebody who’s very dedicated to his craft,” Fairey said. “Being able to see him come out and play like he did, it was nice.”
The Clemson-South Carolina match was an expected challenge as the two teams have been meeting since 1899. The rivalry, along with Clemson’s 5-2 victory the night before, proved to be what both teams needed to put in their all.
“Credit to them. They took advantage,” Bakich said. “We ran out of time there at the end, but that’s obviously a very quality opponent.”
Bakich also noted that his players were pushing through to the end and that the series is not over yet.
“We’re looking forward to the series finale,” he said.
