Clemson takes down South Carolina to win series, secure rivalry bragging rights
Clemson coach Erik Bakich took a not-so-subtle jab at South Carolina on Saturday when he said his team wasn’t going to celebrate “like we just won the World Series” after one game, inferring that’s what USC did the previous night.
There was still “a lot to play for,” Bakich said.
That perspective was validated Sunday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium as Clemson beat South Carolina 7-2 in the decisive Game 3 of the 2026 Palmetto Series.
It was Clemson’s second straight win against rival USC after falling into a 0-1 series hole with Friday’s shutout loss in Columbia. The Tigers’ back-to-back wins Saturday at Segra Park and Sunday at their home ballpark gave them three straight series wins against the Gamecocks.
Clemson has also won nine of the last 12 three-game rivalry series against USC and 12 of its last 15 games against the Gamecocks. Bakich improved to 8-3 against South Carolina, and USC coach Paul Mainieri dropped to 1-5 vs. Clemson.
No. 15 Clemson improved to 10-1 and 8-0 at home as it nears ACC play.
“This series is a big deal,” Bakich said. “It means a lot to a lot of people. Certainly means a lot to us. ... We’ve got a whole lot of season left and a whole lot to play for but this was certainly achieving our first big goal and opportunity.”
Clemson’s pitchers held South Carolina to just four hits Sunday. That continued a weekend-long trend for USC (7-5), which batted 12-91 (.132) across three games vs. Clemson and has now lost three of its last four games.
“Four hits a game for three straight days is obviously something we’ve gotta get better at,” Mainieri said. “Give credit to Clemson. They got some big hits, their pitchers did a good job and they played better than we did. They deserved to win.”
Game recap
Gamecocks third baseman Dawson Harman opened the scoring in the top of the second inning with a two-run RBI single off Clemson starting pitcher Talan Bell.
That was USC’s only lead of the game ... and its only runs.
Clemson put up two runs against USC starter Riley Goodman in the bottom of the second inning, which tied the game at 2-2.
Mainieri pulled Goodman for pitcher Zach Russell the next inning, but the change didn’t stop the bleeding. Russell promptly allowed a two-run RBI single to Clemson’s Tyler Lichtenberger, and the Tigers led 4-2 after three innings.
Clemson extended its lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the fourth on Ty Dalley’s solo home run off Gamecocks pitcher Hudson Lee, a Clemson transfer. Those five runs were more than Clemson had in its first two games against USC combined (four).
“I knew it was gone,” said Dalley, a Mercer transfer who hit 58 home runs with the Bears but hadn’t gone deep in his first 10 games with Clemson.
Clemson didn’t get an elite pitching performance like it did from Michael Sharman on Saturday, but Sunday starter Bell and middle reliever Drew Titsworth limited damage and pieced together six straight scoreless frames from the top of the third to the top of the seventh inning. USC’s bat “went flat,” Mainieri said.
“Those guys work so hard,” Mainieri said, referring to South Carolina’s hitters as well as hitting coach Monte Lee and other staffers. “And at times, we’ll show flashes of being really good. And then other times, not so much.”
The Gamecocks wound up batting 4-32 (.125). They also shuffled through six pitchers, trying to find someone who could be effective after Goodman (their regular Friday starter who was demoted to Sunday this week) struggled mightily.
Clemson runs away with Game 3 late
Clemson’s Tryston McCladdie drove in two more runs in the bottom of the sixth for a 7-2 lead. USC had runners on the corners in the seventh and was flirting with cutting into its five-run deficit before a ground-out ended the inning.
Clemson didn’t exactly light it up offensively either, batting 6-30 (.200), but Bakich said they strung together “quality at-bats.” The Tigers had six hits and six runs batted in, and all of which came after they went down 2-0 early.
Tigers reliever Joe Allen retired the first three batters he faced in the eighth, and freshman pitcher Danny Nelson struck out two Gamecocks swinging and grounded out a third to clinch a Game 3 victory and 2-1 series win for Clemson.
Bakich praised the home crowd of 6,678 and said Clemson’s ability to work its way out of a 7-0 shutout loss on Friday to a series win against its biggest rival was reflective of a “resilient” group that could climb in the rankings next week.
“We know that there’s going to be chaos throughout the game, and we’re just very comfortable in those moments,” Bakich said. “It showed today.”
This story was originally published March 1, 2026 at 5:56 PM.
