Womp womp
No. 23 South Carolina’s winning streak came to an end on the road against Clemson on Friday night, as the Gamecocks dropped the opener in the rivalry series 5-2.
The Tigers got on the board early, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a leadoff solo shot by Cooper Ingle and a double from Cam Cannarella. They added another run in the second courtesy of an error, making the score 3-0, then another run came in the third inning when Benjamin Blackwell hit into a fielder’s choice and Blake Wright scored to put Clemson up 4-0. The final run for the Tigers came in the sixth, when Gavin Abrams went yard to make it 5-0.
USC ended the shutout in the seventh inning, after Gavin Casas walked to start things off and later scored on a single by Talmadge LeCroy to make the score 5-1. The Cocks’ only other run was scored in the ninth, when Casas again took a leadoff walk, then came home on a fly out by Carson Hornung.
Carolina starter Will Sanders went six innings and allowed nine hits and five runs. He walked one batter, struck out nine, and took the loss, making him 1-1. Eli Jerzembeck pitched the rest of the game. Clemson starter Austin Gordon worked 4.2 innings and gave up three hits and no runs. He also didn’t walk any batters and struck two out. Reliever Jackson Lindley earned the win and is now 1-1.
LeCroy and Ethan Petry each had two hits to lead the Gamecocks at the plate, while LeCroy and Hornung recorded one RBI apiece. Cannarella paced the Tigers with three hits, while he, Ingle, Blackwell, and Abrams tallied one RBI each.
South Carolina is now 9-1 overall, while Clemson is 5-4. They’ll meet again on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. in Greenville.