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Both South Carolina and Clemson’s offenses perked up on Sunday in Columbia, as the teams again fought a close-scoring battle that ended with USC coming out on top again in dramatic fashion.
The Tigers took an early lead, going up 1-0 in the first inning on a James Parker RBI single. The Gamecocks tied things up in the third, when HOME RUN KING Wes Clarke smacked a two-out solo shot to make the score 1-1.
That held until the top of the fifth inning, when Clemson regained the lead thanks to a two-run double that put the visiting team up 3-1. Their lead was short-lived, though, as USC answered in the bottom of the inning. Braylen Wimmer started things off with a homer to pull the Gamecocks within one, then Brady Allen and Brennan Milone knocked back-to-back one-out singles before the HOME RUN KING came through again to make it a 5-3 game.
The Tigers broke the tie again to retake the lead in the seventh inning, going up 7-3 thanks to RBI single from Alex Urban, a two-run base hit by Regan Reid, and a Max Wagner sac bunt that scored a run. Again the Gamecocks answered in the bottom of the inning, though, tying things right back up. Milone reached on an error with one out, Clarke singled, and then David Mendham and Andrew Eyster came through with RBI base hits to make it 7-7.
Clemson threatened to take the lead back yet again in the top of the ninth, but the Tigers couldn’t capitalize, and then it was hero time again for Eyster, who tallied a walkoff RBI single for the second day in a row.
Carolina starter Brannon Jordan didn’t have the smoothest of outings, but he worked four innings and gave up three hits and two runs, while also walking four batters and striking eight out. Jack Mahoney, Jackson Phipps, Travis Luensmann, Daniel Lloyd, Andrew Peters, and Will Sanders also all took the mound for the Gamecocks in this game. Sanders earned the win and is now 2-0, while Clemson reliever Evan Estridge took the loss and is now 0-1. Clarke, Eyster, and Wimmer each racked up three hits in this game, while Clarke had four RBI and Eyster had two.
USC stays undefeated, improving to 6-0, while the Tigers drop to 3-2. The Gamecocks will be back in action on Tuesday, when they travel to play Winthrop. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.