Pitching again lifts Clemson past USC; Tigers clinch series
Clemson won the rivalry series against South Carolina with a 4-1 victory Sunday behind another standout pitching performance.
Redshirt freshman Alex Eubanks, in his first career start, struck out eight in 7 2/3 innings on the heels of a strong outing Saturday from senior Clate Schmidt. Four Clemson pitchers combined to allow nine hits and one run in the series’ final 18 innings.
“[USC] pitching wasn’t the problem. Their pitching was our problem,” USC coach Chad Holbrook said. “They stuffed us pretty good. Our pitching kept us in the game. If you had told me today that you’re going to hold them to four runs, I would’ve taken it.”
Clemson (8-2) clinched the series in front of 6,524 fans, a Doug Kingsmore Stadium record. The Tigers earned consecutive regular-season series victories for the first time since the 2002 and 2003 seasons.
South Carolina (10-2) had a leadoff batter on base twice in the final two games of the series. In one of those instances, Sunday’s fourth inning, Dom Thompson-Williams scored on a sacrifice fly by Gene Cone.
“I think we have a better offensive team than what we showed the last 18 innings,” Holbrook said. “You have to give Clemson pitchers credit. They kind of manhandled us a little bit the last 18 innings.”
USC scattered seven hits Sunday. John Jones and Thompson-Williams had two hits apiece.
Alex Destino, who was USC’s designated hitter Sunday after two days at first base, was 2-for-7 in the final two games after a 5-for-5 night in Friday’s win. He credited Eubanks for stymying USC’s hitters.
“He made some very good pitches in some tough counts,” Destino said. “Yet again we didn’t make the adjustments we needed to. That’s on us. I know coach wants to take ownership for that, but that’s on the hitters. Our coaching staff didn’t have anything to do with that.”
South Carolina starter Taylor Widener (0-1) allowed four earned runs, struck out two and walked two in three innings. Clemson’s Chase Pinder and Reed Rohlman had RBI hits off Widener in the third.
Widener left the game in the fourth after Clemson led off with a walk and single. An Andrew Cox single off USC reliever Reed Scott scored both runners. Josh Reagan pitched the final 4 2/3 innings for the Gamecocks with two strikeouts, one hit and two walks.
The Tigers took the series under first-year coach Monte Lee, who was born in Spartanburg and went to Lugoff-Elgin High. He was an assistant coach for the Gamecocks from 2003-08 and then head coach at College of Charleston.
“It’s very gratifying,” Lee said. “I’m from the state of South Carolina. I’ve lived here my whole life. I’ve coached here my whole life. What makes the rivalry so special is, in the state of South Carolina, we don’t any professional sports.”
The Gamecocks return to Founders Park for five games this week, including a weekend series against Charleston Southern. After the Sunday loss to Clemson, Holbrook said he’ll evaluate USC’s lineup and pitching rotation with seven games left before SEC play.
“This is a weekend series in the first weekend of March,” Holbrook said. “And while this is a bitter pill to swallow, I’m not ready to judge my guys’ fight and character and tenacity based on the last two games. We got out of character a little bit the last 18 innings. We’ve got to get back to work.”
ANNUAL HONORS
Series MVPs: Chase Pinder (triple, HR, 2 RBIs) received the Bob Bradley Award as Clemson’s series MVP. Clarke Schmidt (8 IP, 9 Ks, 0 ER) received the Tom Price Award as South Carolina’s MVP.
THREE POINTS
Star of the game: Alex Eubanks threw 75 strikes in a 108-pitch effort in the Clemson win.
Play of the game: In the third inning, USC’s Alex Destino singled with John Jones on first. With a shift on, Clemson second baseman Weston Wilson made a diving grab, stood and easily threw Jones out at third base for the third out.
Stat of the game: 5. Times South Carolina got its first base-runner of the inning Sunday with two outs.
OBSERVATIONS
No shenanigans: There were no controversial or heated moments this weekend. It was all about the baseball.
Bump in the road: As Chad Holbrook has said and Alex Destino echoed after Sunday’s game, this series won’t dictate how the rest of the season will go. It is at least a temporary morale hit for the players (and the fans). USC now has seven games, six at home, to get things back on track before SEC play begins.
NEXT
What: South Carolina vs. Wofford
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 8
Where: Founders Park, Columbia
Watch: SEC Network Plus (digital)
Radio: 107.5 FM in the Columbia area
This story was originally published March 6, 2016 at 4:34 PM.