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Yet again, the Gamecocks gave up too many walks to the Tigers, and yet again, Clemson capitalized, giving South Carolina its first series loss of the season.
The Tigers took an early lead, going up 1-0 in the first inning on a homer. They added two more runs in the third, thanks to an RBU single and an RBI ground out, making the score 3-0. Three more Clemson runs came in the fourth inning, courtesy of a USC error and a two-run double that put the Tigers up 6-0.
The Gamecocks cut the lead in half in the top of the fifth inning. Justin Row led off with a single, Noah Campbell followed with a base hit too, and then TJ Hopkins belted a three-run homer to make the score 6-3.
South Carolina tacked on another run in the sixth inning to make it 6-4. Jonah Bride walked to start things off, Jacob Olson singled, and a groundout by Carlos Cortes brought Bride home. Clemson got the run right back in the bottom of the inning on a leadoff homer, putting the Tigers up 7-4.
The Gamecocks continued to battle back, adding a run in the eighth inning, when Olson doubled with one out and Cortes knocked an RBI single that made the score 7-5.
USC kept the scoring coming in the ninth inning, rallying to tie the game at 7-7. Campbell led off with a single, Madison Stokes walked with one out, and LT Tolbert came through with an RBI double. Chris Cullen followed with a sac fly that brought in the tying run, but that was all the Gamecocks were able to muster.
Unfortunately, the Tigers did a little rallying of their own to score one more run and secure the walk off win.
Starter John Gilreath had a rocky outing, working 3.2 innings and allowing seven hits and six runs. He also walked three batters and struck out five. Ridge Chapman, Eddy Demurias, and Carmen Mlodzinski also pitched in this game. Yet again, the pitching staff gave up way too many walks, and they had a total of six wild pitches in the game, which is also way too many. Clearly the offense was also an issue again, though it was encouraging to see them fight back from a 6-0 deficit.
With the loss, South Carolina drops to 7-5, while Clemson is now 11-1. The Gamecocks will be back in action on Tuesday, when they travel to Charlotte to play Appalachian State. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.