CLEMSON – South Carolina had its opportunities but in the end, it was just a close loss. Clemson scored four runs early, one run late and its pitchers stranded 11 on base for a 5-3 win on Friday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
The Gamecocks (9-1) never let the game get too far out of hand and had three chances to tie the game with one swing of the bat in the top of the ninth, but Max Kaufer and Ethan Petry both had long fly balls caught at the wall as the Tigers (8-1) escape its home game with a two-run victory.
“We were in position to pull it off, we just couldn’t pull it off,” first-year head coach Paul Mainieri said.
“I don’t know how much closer you could come to tying up the game than those last two balls that we hit. I thought Kaufer’s ball for sure was gone; I had no doubt in my mind about it, but it just died right there at the yellow line. Then Petry’s ball, if the kid doesn’t catch it, it’s halfway up the wall. Came about as close as we could to tying the game or taking the lead.”
Senior Matthew Becker entered the night as the top pitcher for the Gamecocks with a 1.59 earned run average and 17 strikeouts against no walks in his 11 1/3 innings pitched so far this season. But the Tigers mounted a two-out rally in the first inning to score a pair of runs and then put up two more in the bottom of the second to mount a 4-0 lead.
Becker issued five walks in the game and hit another batter, but he and his teammates were only down a run after a three-run top of the third inning.
Nolan Nawrocki drove his fifth sacrifice fly of the season to center field with the bases loaded and one out, then Talmadge LeCroy roped a double down the left field line to score a pair.
“Talmadge came with the really big hit there and we were right there,” Mainieri said. “We had a couple of opportunities and just couldn’t cash them in. I thought it was a tremendous ball game. Tomorrow’s a new day.”
Reliever Brandon Stone entered with one on and one out in the fourth inning, and he’d keep the Tigers off balance most of the remainder of the game.
“I was just throwing the sinker and throwing the slider and let them work off each other,” Stone said. “Threw a lot of strikes, let the defense work.”
Stone allowed only one run, a solo shot to Jarren Purify in the bottom of the seventh inning, in his 4 2/3 innings of work. He didn’t walk a hitter and struck out six in his 56-pitch performance, which included 44 strikes.
“I thought Brandon Stone was awesome,” Mainieri said. “He was in a great rhythm out there. That was pitching; he was awesome. It was unfortunate that he tried to get ahead of the one kid who put a good swing on it, but really pitched great and gave us a chance. We came real close.”
The Clemson bullpen was just as good as Stone, though, as Jacob McGovern and Lucas Mahlstedt combined to throw 4 1/3 shutout innings allowing one hit and one walk with five strikeouts.
But South Carolina stranded two runners in the fifth inning, two more in the sixth and one in the ninth.
“I thought our kids were a little nervous tonight,” Mainieri said. “We had them as loose as they could but for a lot of them, this is the first time they’ve played in an environment like this. I thought the first few innings, we didn’t do the things we’ve been doing, and dug ourselves a hole there.”
After Blake Jackson was hit by a pitch to begin the ninth inning, the Gamecocks had the top of the order and needed just one ball to leave the yard to tie the game. Nathan Hall went down swinging for the third time in an 0-for-4 day, but Kaufer jumped all over a first pitch breaking ball. The high drive would fall into Dominic Listi’s glove at the top of the fence.
Petry went deep into his at-bat, fouling off a couple of full count pitches, before driving a low pitch to the wall in right field where Tryston McCladdie was there to get his glove on it at the wall.
South Carolina was just 1-for-11 with runners on base in the game and while Clemson wasn’t much better, going 3-for-16, it was enough to take the opening game of the series.
South Carolina will look to even the series on Saturday with first pitch set for 1:30 p.m. at Fluor Field in Greenville with broadcast coverage on SEC Network +. The Gamecocks are the home team for the game and will turn to left-handed pitcher Jake McCoy on the mound.
