Clemson climbs back to edge South Carolina, take series opener
Baseball season doesn’t truly begin in South Carolina until the Gamecocks and Clemson Tigers play.
In the opening game of the rivalry series Friday night at Founders Park, the Gamecocks and Tigers provided yet another spectacle, delivering the intensity and energy the series is known for in front of a crowd of more than 8,200.
The Tigers prevailed 3-2, just edging their foes from Columbia in a nail-biting pitchers’ duel between USC sophomore Will Sanders and Clemson right-hander Mack Anglin. With the win, Clemson (9-0) maintained its undefeated start to the season, saddling the Gamecocks (7-2) with their second loss. The Tigers lead the all-time series 184-142-2.
First baseman Bryar Hawkins knocked in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth against left-hander John Gilreath, sending a two-out pitch right up the middle for the eventual game-winning RBI.
“This was a very tough environment to play in, unbelievable crowd tonight,” Clemson coach Monte Lee said. “Very proud of our guys being able to just continue to compete. I thought our pitching was outstanding. Our calling card so far in early season has been our pitching.”
Pitching was at the forefront of the contest for both teams, with Sanders and Anglin lighting up the stadium radar gun throughout the evening. The Gamecocks drew first blood against the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Anglin with leading hitter Andrew Eyster drilling a sacrifice fly after a pair of walks in the first inning. From there, Anglin was difficult to solve, touching as high as 97 miles per hour with his fastball while mixing in a swing-and-miss breaking ball.
Anglin used his strikeout stuff to wriggle out of jams, striking out nine Gamecocks in six innings and allowing just two hits, along with four walks. One of his lone mistakes came in the sixth inning, when he left a pitch right down the middle for lefty Josiah Sightler to drill over the fence to give the Gamecocks a 2-1 lead.
On the other side, Sanders was even more effective, blowing past his career high of 10 strikeouts with 14 in seven frames — the most by a USC pitcher against Clemson since Adam Hill’s 14 strikeouts in 2018. The Tigers squared up Sanders early in the game, tagging him for six hits. But other than an RBI single to DH Cooper Ingle in the third inning, Sanders never relented. Using his low-90s fastball with a hard low-80s slider and a tumbling changeup, Sanders kept the Tigers off balance all night long.
But the USC bullpen couldn’t maintain the lead behind him. Reliever Wesley Sweatt gave up a game-tying solo bomb to catcher Jonathan French. And Gilreath gave up the go-ahead run on the RBI single by Hawkins in the top of the ninth.
The Gamecocks had opportunities to cash in throughout the game but went 0-for-17 with runners on base.
“It was a great game, disappointed we lost. It could have gone either way clearly,” USC head coach Mark Kingston said. “Two mistakes late by us obviously was the difference in the ball game. Both starting pitchers were dominant and did a really nice job. They showed why they’re so respected nationally, and we just got to finish that game better.”
Kingston said the Gamecocks hadn’t yet made a decision on who will start on the mound Saturday or Sunday after the Gamecocks lost starter James Hicks this week to Tommy John surgery. The injury-riddled pitching staff behind Sanders could put the Gamecocks in a precarious situation as they continue through the series.
Next USC baseball game
Who: South Carolina vs. Clemson
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Segra Park in Columbia
Watch: Streaming on ACC Network Extra
This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 10:12 PM.
