Clemson baseball silences South Carolina bats to even rivalry series
Perhaps as a further testament of this being the best rivalry in college baseball, South Carolina and Clemson will head to a rubber match on Sunday.
After the Gamecocks pulled off a shocking shutout victory Friday, No. 15 Clemson (9-1) responded Saturday at Segra Park in Columbia, evening the Palmetto Series with a 4-1 victory.
“We’ve got another big one tomorrow, which is why we don’t celebrate out of control like we just won the world series after one win,” Clemson coach Erik Bakich said, seemingly taking a shot at Carolina’s emotion on Friday night. “We still have a lot to play for.”
Both teams will now head to the Upstate for a decisive Game 3, where first pitch from Doug Kingsmore Stadium is set for 3 p.m. Sunday. South Carolina (7-4) is looking for its first series win over Clemson since 2023.
Gamecocks swinging early
Just a day after it seemed South Carolina was treating every at-bat as a battle, the Gamecocks just kept swinging and swinging Saturday.
USC won on Friday, in large part, because it knocked Clemson starter Aidan Knaak out of the game after just five innings. The Gamecocks spent the night working counts, not looking for walks, but looking to make Knaak work for outs. He was at 70 pitches through three innings and by then, Carolina was in control.
That went out the window Saturday.
The only battling USC did at the plate was competing for who could swing the quickest. The result was a gem. Clemson starter Michael Sharman threw a 78-pitch complete game, allowing just four hits and no walks while striking out four.
“Knowing Clemson history like I do,” Bakich said, “that was one of the all-time, single-game performances ... What Michael Sharman did today was special and one for the record books.”
And credit the senior left-hander: He was daring South Carolina to swing. Of his 78 pitches, 67 were strikes (86%). That led to a bevvy of quick outs. On 11 occasions, a South Carolina hitter put the first pitch they saw into play. That resulted in a hit just twice.
One could imagine how frustrating Saturday was for the Gamecocks. When they put the ball in play, it rarely found a hole. On the rare occasions they got a hold of one, it ended up as a long fly ball inside this massive ballpark.
“(Carolina) was gonna put the ball in play off me and my team made some great plays behind me,” Sharman said. “I just tried to throw strikes.”
And for those who wanted South Carolina to just watch balls zip through the zone just to try something different, that didn’t work either.
“When we took pitches, it seemed like we were in an 0-2 count every time,” Mainieri said. “You’ve got to tip you cap to the kid.”
One of those hits came off the bat of Will Craddock, who turned on the first pitch he saw in the third inning for a two-out double. The next batter, Ethan Lizama, brought him home with a single (on pitch No. 3).
For the second-straight day, the Gamecocks were on the board first. But because they didn’t have the game’s best pitcher, the lead didn’t last.
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Savoie comes through
In a game with very little offense, the difference came from sophomore Clemson catcher Nate Savoie, who forced the 9,000 or so folks in attendance to question what lies beyond Segra Park.
With Clemson down 1-0 in the third inning, Gamecocks starter Amp Phillips left a breaking ball in the zone. Savoie tattooed the ball, which hit the concourse and bounced out of the stadium.
“Good hitters take advantage of those pitchers,” Mainieri said. “(Amp) wasn’t quite as sharp as he was last week.”
The three-run shot gave the Tigers a lead that — given how Sharman was pitching — was plenty comfortable.
Savoie heads into March leading Clemson in RBIs (14) and tied with Jacob Jarrell with four dingers.
South Carolina vs. Clemson schedule, results
- Game 1 (Friday): USC 7, Clemson 0
- Game 2 (Saturday): Clemson 4, USC 1
- Game 3 (Sunday): South Carolina at Clemson, 3 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
This story was originally published February 28, 2026 at 5:03 PM.
