Clemson shuts down South Carolina offense again, sweeps series with 8-2 win

Game three of the series was nearly identical to the first two for eight innings. TIght-low, scoring, and a total no show from South Carolina’s offense.

Then the Tigers broke it open.

Clemson won the finale 8-2 at Founders Park to complete its third sweep in four years in the rivalry.

"Every game was in the balance going into the eighth or ninth inning," a somber Paul Mainieri said. "We just didn't do what it took, and Clemson did."

While the specifics changed, the overarching theme of the weekend remained. South Carolina (9-3) could not hit, and Clemson (10-1) did just enough to take advantage of its mistakes.

For the second consecutive day, the score remained at 0-0 heading to the fifth inning. Dylan Eskew and Justin LeGuernic traded zeroes and both pitched around some trouble, but one defensive blunder.

After a lead-off walk, a grounder up the middle gave Eskew a chance for a double play to erase the baserunner. But the ball kicked away from second baseman Nolan Nawrocki after he tried to backhand it. The official scoring was a hit, but the damage was done. Jarren Purify came up with a runner in scoring position and lined a base hit to right, breaking the scoring seal and dropping the Gamecocks into the same hole they found themselves in all weekend.

LeGuernic gave way to Joe Allen, who was unhittable. Literally. The Clemson reliever who entered the game with six strikeouts in two outings fired six in a row against a completely hapless South Carolina lineup. After singles in the second and third, South Carolina did not find another hit until the eighth.

"You are who you are," Mainieri said. "The guys are trying the best that they can, but there's guys struggling. I don't mean to single players out, but guys who had really good falls and even really good pre-seasons have struggled thus far this spring."

And for as well as Eskew pitched, it was a similar story to yesterday. After entering the ninth inning of yesterday’s game down 2-1 and giving up three runs, another three-spot put the game out of reach.

Three runs on one swing by Michigan transfer Collin Priest, who followed up his two-run double in Friday’s game with a towering three-run shot onto the berm in right. It sent fans to the exits, sent the visiting dugout into ecstasy and confirmed the grim reality of the weekend for South Carolina.

"It's the difference in teams," Mainieri said about the clutch hitting. "It's the difference in winning and losing, who performs in the clutch."

Even after the Gamecocks cut the deficit in half in the eighth thanks to three singles and a fielder’s choice, it did little to change the situation. A 4-2 deficit in the ninth ballooned to 8-2 when closer Brendan Sweeney issued two free passes in front of Clemson superstar Cam Cannarella, who delivered a bases loaded liner into the gap to plate two more runs. Another single and a wild pitch later, and the damage was finally done.

"I told our players after the game that there is not anything we can do about the Clemson series," Mainieri said. "It's in the books. You can't go back an re-play them all. I'm sure that there's going to be a lot of noise out there in the public disappointed by what happened this weekend. I feel bad about it, believe me."

An 8-2 final, a third sweep at the hands of Clemson in four years and very legitimate, concerning questions about if the first edition of the Mainieri Gamecocks can compete in SEC play.

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