One-upper: Clemson takes baseball rivalry series opener over South Carolina
And the opening round goes to the Tigers.
Clemson’s baseball team put up some early runs on South Carolina, then used a late home run, some excellent pitching and a little luck to beat the Gamecocks, 5-3, in front of a rowdy crowd Friday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
In new USC coach Paul Mainieri’s first game against Clemson, South Carolina got runners in scoring position but couldn’t convert against the No. 13 Tigers and wound up scoring zero runs across its last six innings despite a late rally.
With Clemson leading USC 5-3 in the top of the ninth inning, Gamecocks designated hitter Max Kaufer hit a bomb to deep left field. A home run would’ve tied the game.
Instead, his ball came up just short and was caught for a flyout.
“I thought Kaufer’s ball for sure was gone,” Mainieri said postgame. “I had no doubt in my mind about it. And it just died right there at the yellow line.”
USC star Ethan Petry, the team’s best hitter, was up to bat next, facing a two-run deficit. He made contact, too, but he flew out to right field on another deep hit.
“I mean, if the kid doesn’t catch it, it probably hits halfway up the wall,” Mainieri said of Petry’s hit. “I mean, we came about as close as we could to tying the game.”
Clemson (8-1) and coach Erik Bakich will take a 1-0 series lead into Saturday’s neutral-site game at Fluor Field in Greenville.
With a win, the Tigers could clinch a second consecutive series win against their rival for the first time since 2017-18 and an eighth overall series win in their last 11 meetings with USC. Clemson swept the rivalry series 2-0 last season.
South Carolina (9-1) must win in Greenville on Saturday to keep its hopes of a Palmetto Series victory alive before Sunday’s final game at Founders Park.
“A lot of bright spots tonight,” Bakich said. “Obviously we’re happy with the win, but there’s a lot more to do this weekend, so certainly not satisfied.”
Game recap
Clemson designated hitter Collin Priest and left fielder Dominic Listi opened the scoring early in front of a record crowd of 6,891 people at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Priest had a two-RBI double against USC starting pitcher Matthew Becker in the bottom of the first inning, and Listi added a RBI single to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
Clemson went up 4-0 in the bottom of the second inning before the Gamecocks had a critical run of their own, picking up three runs in the top of the third inning.
Tigers transfer Nolan Nawrocki had a sacrifice fly RBI for USC, and catcher Talmadge LeCroy drove in two more scores with a gorgeous hit down the third-base line, which dropped just inside the foul line and brought the score to 4-3.
Becker, South Carolina’s Friday starter, was serviceable but shaky at times.
He entered the game with 17 strikeouts against zero walks in two appearances but walked five Clemson batters before getting pulled in the bottom of the fourth.
Aidan Knaak, Clemson’s Friday ace and a reigning Freshman All-American, had a season-high nine strikeouts in 4.2 innings but issued four walks of his own. He was pulled in the top of the fifth inning after throwing 101 pitches.
A relievers’ duel assumed from there, as Clemson pitcher Jacob McGovern and USC pitcher Brandon Stone (six strikeouts) both stranded their fair share of runners to prevent scoring chances. Neither team scored in the fourth, fifth or sixth innings.
It was an intense game, too, with Knaak and Nawrocki exchanging words after the Tigers pitcher struck out his old teammate in the first inning and fans booing each time Hall and Nawrocki stepped up to the plate.
Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney even popped up in the Tigers’ dugout and got on the headset during Bakich’s midgame interview with the broadcast crew.
“When it’s Clemson versus South Carolina, it’s going to be heated,” Bakich said.
Tigers second baseman Jarren Purify finally broke the drought with a solo home run deep into left field in the bottom of the seventh, putting Clemson up 5-3 on USC.
Purify hit his home run at 99 mph and it traveled 384 feet, per Clemson.
His score was the last of the game as Clemson reliever Lucas Mahlstedt (who was lights out all night) shut out USC over the game’s final three innings.
Mahlstedt, a lanky right-hander with a unique sidearm release, went three up, three down in the seventh inning and the eighth inning to preserve Clemson’s 5-3 lead.
South Carolina, which entered batting .304 as a team, wound up leaving nine runners on base on Friday and hit just 5-30 (.167).
USC hasn’t won a game at Clemson since 2019.
“I thought our kids were a little nervous tonight,” Mainieri said. “I tried to have them as loose as they could. But for a lot of them, this is the first time to play in an environment like this. … We dug ourselves a hole there down 4-0.”
The ending got a little tense, as Mahlstedt hit the first batter he faced on an 0-2 count and Kaufer’s deep hit to left field fell just short of a game-tying home run.
Petry made contact on the game’s final at-bat, too. But he flew out to right field, giving Mahlstedt a save and Clemson a 1-0 rivalry series lead.
“The rosters change, the coaches change, but the rivalry remains,” Bakich said. “It’s just so good for the state when both of these teams are really good.”
Next Clemson-USC baseball game
Who: No. 13 Clemson (8-1) vs. South Carolina (9-1)
When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Fluor Field in Greenville
TV: SEC Network Plus (streaming only)
This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 9:48 PM.
