Rivalry Sweep: Tigers complete dominant weekend over Gamecocks, stay unbeaten |
CLEMSON – The largest crowd in Doug Kingsmore Stadium history watched the conclusion of Clemson baseball’s most successful rivalry series in quite some time.
In front of 6,636 fans, Clemson baseball (11-0) wrapped up a series sweep of the South Carolina Gamecocks (7-4) with a 5-2 win on Sunday. It’s the first sweep from the Tigers in the three-game, three-stadium format that stretches back to 2010 and a first season sweep of the Gamecocks since 1999 (two wins there; the most wins in a series sweep in a single season since 1996, which was a four-game season sweep). "It's just a historical weekend. It's a special weekend for our program and for our players," Clemson coach Monte Lee said. "I couldn't be happier for them. We lost the series last year, to come back and sweep this weekend -- it's been a long, long time since it's happened, so a special thing that our guys that are here this year will always be able to remember and talk about and reminisce about, come back and talk about. Just a great weekend for our players and for our program." Both teams struggled to get anything going offensively in the early innings, but once the starters came out, the action picked up. Clemson’s Bryar Hawkins, who earned series MVP honors, led off the fourth with a single up the middle and a fielding error at third moved him to second and brought Max Wagner aboard. Jonathan French was walked to load the bases with one out and Gamecocks reliever Aidan Hunter (2-1) hit Benjamin Blackwell on his first delivery to him to bring across the first runner of the game. After working a 3-1 count, Dylan Brewer laced a single over Hunter’s head to bring home two more Tigers. The Gamecocks had had issues aplenty on the weekend producing with runners on base going into the fifth – 2-for-42 with runners on and 2-for-21 with them in scoring position – but an infield single from Michael Braswell and then an RBI single from Braylen Wimmer off of Tigers reliever Alex Edmondson placed the Gamecocks on the board. Edmondson walked the first two batters of the sixth before getting taken out, where South Carolina’s Carson Hornung tagged a run on his record with an RBI single. Jackson Lindley (2-0) was able to get out of jam on a grounder. Lindley threw 1 2/3 scoreless frames with a strikeout and two hits allowed. Closer Ryan Ammons pitched two scoreless innings to earn his fourth save of the season. "Jackson Lindley, quite honestly, was probably the most valuable pitcher in this game today...Then Ryan Ammons, he made it interesting but he filled up the strike zone and he made them swing the bat," Lee said. Clemson relief pitching allowed one earned run over 11 1/3 innings in the series. Right-handed starter Nick Clayton allowed a lone run over 4 2/3 innings on Sunday, which made for just three earned runs given up by Clemson starting pitching over 15 2/3 frames. "It really just comes down to executing pitches in big moments," Clayton said of the weekend performance. "It's something we work on and preach about here. Honestly, that was the biggest part for me. I think I had a runner on every single inning. It was huge to see a bunch of the guys execute pitches... "Throwing strikes (helped), one, and we have so many guys we can use in so many different situations. We all trust each other and believe in each other. Nobody was trying to do too much. I think last year we got caught up trying to do too much, certain guys in certain situations. So this year is more of let's do what we can and pass it to the next guy." Tiger relief got a little help in the eighth with a solo shot to right field from Cooper Ingle, his first career home run. French then tacked on another one with an RBI single later in the frame. Clemson is off to its best start since 2002 (a 13-0 start there) and Ingle says there's a spirit to the team that has keyed a turnaround from last year. "The chemistry as a whole is bar-none compared to last year," Ingle said. "It's amazing. Everybody on this team loves each other. It doesn't matter if you're in the starting lineup or you're sitting on the bench, everybody is going to be involved every pitch. Everybody is going to root for you to do your best." The Tigers return to action on Tuesday at 4 p.m. versus East Tennessee State (ACCNX).
COOOOOP!! ??????@IngleCooper launches his first career homer to extend his hitting streak to 1??1?? games! ????
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) March 6, 2022
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?? 99 mph
B8 || USC 2, CU 4
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A pitcher's best friend ??
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) March 6, 2022
T7 || USC 2, CU 3
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.@dbrewski3 COMES THROUGH!??
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) March 6, 2022
A 2-run single brings home a pair to extend Clemson's lead! ????
B4 || USC 0, CU 3
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