CLEMSON, S.C. — After the 2024 South Carolina-Clemson series only featured two games due to rain, the 2025 opener felt like the missing third game.
Just like the two last year, it was tight throughout. Just like both, it was on the lower scoring end of the spectrum.
And as they did both times last year, Clemson grinded out a tight win.
Clemson beat South Carolina 5-3 before a record crowd of 6,891 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, handing the Gamecocks their first defeat of the season. The defining moment came in the 9th inning with South Carolina’s Max Kaufer at the plate against Clemson reliever Lucas Mahlstedt. The pinch hitter crushed one out to left field while representing the tying run, looking like it would deliver a crowded-quieting blow.
But Clemson left fielder Tryston McLaddie caught the ball on the warning track with his back touching the wall, extinguishing the threat with about a foot to spare.
“I don’t know how much closer you can come to tying up a game than those last two balls we hit," Paul Mainieri said. "I thought Kaufer’s ball for sure was gone. I had no doubt in my mind about it, and it just died right there at the yellow line.”
It was as close as possible. But after losing two 5-4 games to the Tigers last year, nobody wants to hear about being one swing away. It was another one decided by an eyelash, with mistakes over the course of the game leading up to the final result.
If there was one difference between this 336th game of the Palmetto series in baseball and the two prior, it was the start. South Carolina (9-1) played even through three innings in one game last year and scored first in the other, but found itself in a quick 4-0 hole Friday.
Starting pitcher Matthew Becker did not walk a single batter in his first two starts of the season, but struggled with command all night in his first true test of the campaign. The senior left-hander issued five walks in just 3 ⅓ innings, and a two-out walk in the first inning opened the door for the first runs of the night.
After the walk kept the inning alive and pushed a runner into scoring position, Clemson (8-1) designated hitter Collin Priest ripped a double into the right field corner to score both runners. The Tigers added another two an inning later thanks to two hits and three walks in the inning, and had a chance to completely blow the game open with the bases loaded and a 4-0 lead.
“He was just missing with a lot of pitches," Mainieri saidabout Becker. "And he wasn’t able to land his curveball consistently. They got a few hits off of him. He’ll be better next week for sure, and he’ll learn from this experience tonight.”
But Becker induced a groundout to retire the side, keeping a flicker of life alive. The offense took advantage of his help with a three-run third inning off Clemson ace Aidan Knaak. Former Tiger Nolan Nawrocki started it out with a bases loaded sacrifice fly, and Talmadge LeCroy turned up with the biggest hit of his season just moments later. The struggling catcher lined an 0-2 pitch into the left field corner to score two runs, getting the Gamecocks back in the game.
But from 4-3 in the third, the offenses stalled out. Both had their chances. Plenty. Clemson put at least two runners on base in five of the first six innings and South Carolina did so in four of the first six, but a series of tightrope acts from Knaak, Clemson reliever Jacob McGovern and South Carolina’s Brandon Stone held it at a one-run game.
He pitched around an error in the fifth to strand two runners, held another two at bay in the sixth and struck out six batters without walking any in another stellar performance.
“I thought Brandon Stone was awesome," Mainieri said. "Even if we had tied the game or taken the lead, I was going to leave him in the game. He was just in a great rhythm out there.”
But it had one blemish, and it was a loud one.
Clemson’s Jarren Purify crushed a solo home run in the seventh, providing a key insurance run. Kaufer’s flyout in the ninth was the heart in mouth moment, and Petry also flied out to the warning track in the ninth inning.
Just inches short, as the Gamecocks have been in three straight games in this rivalry.
“I could tell that they were just a little bit nervous at the beginning," Mainieri said. "At the end they were playing much more like they were capable of playing. I think tomorrow we’ll play a much more solid game.”
Maybe so, but the burden is on the Gamecocks to prove it. Close losses against anyone are demoralizing,but three in a row, especially in this rivalry, had to feel like deja vu for the players in the dugout who played through last season's series.
South Carolina has two more chances to right the ship, starting with a 1:30 p.m. first pitch on Saturday at Fluor Field in Greenville.
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