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After the original first game of the annual rivalry series was postponed due to rain, the Gamecocks and Tigers met in a low-scoring affair in Greenville on Saturday.
South Carolina got on the board first, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning after Brady Allen singled to start things off and scored on a one-out RBI single by Wes Clarke. Clemson tied things up in the fourth inning on a James Parker RBI single. The Gamecocks got the run back in the bottom of the inning though, when Brennan Milone knocked a leadoff double and came home on an RBI single from Jeff Heinrich, putting them up 2-1.
That score held until the ninth, when Parker went yard to tie the game again. USC couldn’t get anything going in the bottom of the inning, so it was onto extras, where the Gamecocks finally did get things done. After neither team did much in the 10th inning, Carolina’s offense came through in the bottom of the 11th with a pair of doubles, the first one by Allen, who then scored on a walkoff hit by Eyster.
Gamecocks starter Thomas Farr had another solid performance, working six innings and allowing five hits and one run, while walking just one batter and striking out seven. Julian Bosnic, Brett Kerry, and Will Sanders also pitched in this game; Sanders got the win and is now 1-0. Tigers reliever Geoffrey Gilbert took the loss, making him 0-1. Allen, David Mendham, and Heinrich led South Carolina at the plate with three hits each, while Clarke, Eyster, and Heinrich each tallied an RBI.
The teams will meet again on Sunday, with first pitch set for 1:30 p.m. at Founders Park. Brannon Jordan is slated to start on the mound for the home team.