The Tigers (8-1) outlasted rival South Carolina (9-1), 5-3, in game one of the highly anticipated Palmetto Series in front of a record-breaking crowd at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Cam Cannarella, Collin Priest and Luke Gaffney each had two hits behind Jarren Purify’s late home run in the Gamecocks’ first loss of the season. Sophomore Aidan Knaak delivered a strong performance, pitching 4.2 innings and recording a season-high nine strikeouts, while Lucas Mahlstedt earned a nine-out save.
Game Highlights
Knaak faced trouble in the first after making quick work of Hall and Woita. With two outs, he hit Petry, then walked Jones, putting a runner in scoring position for Nawrocki. Knaak struck out Nawrocki to escape the jam, staring him down as he headed to the dugout.
The Tigers jumped on Gamecocks’ pitcher Matthew Becker, scoring two early runs. Becker quickly retired Lisiti on a strikeout and McCladdie on a near-wall flyout. Cannarella reached on a perfect bunt, and Paino walked to set up Priest. On a 2-2 count, Priest doubled down the right field line, scoring both Paino and Cannarella to give Clemson the lead.
Knaak notched his 3rd and 4th strikeout of the game in the second inning, sitting down Kaczmar and Scobey after LeCroy singled. South Carolina left another runner on base after Jackson grounded back to the pitcher, ending another scoreless inning for Knaak.
Clemson quickly took advantage again in the second, with Gaffney leading off with a double down the left field line. Purify’s bunt advanced Gaffney to third, but he was called out on a close play at first after review. Becker walked Ciufo, putting Tigers on first and third with one out for Listi. Listi redeemed his first-inning strikeout with a single through the right side, scoring Gaffney and moving Ciufo to third. After a mound visit, Becker struck out McCladdie but walked Cannarella, loading the bases for Paino, who earned his second walk of the day, forcing Ciufo home. Becker limited the damage to two runs, getting Priest to ground out and end the inning.
Knaak ran into trouble in the third after a quick strikeout of Hall. Wiota singled, followed by back-to-back walks to Petry and Jones, loading the bases with one out. Nawrocki’s sacrifice fly put the Gamecocks’ first run on the board, and LeCroy’s double down the left field line scored two more. Knaak kept the lead by getting Kaczmar to fly out, but the Gamecocks closed the gap to 4-3. On the mound for South Carolina, Becker faced two on—Gaffney with a single and Purify hit by a pitch—but escaped without allowing a run, keeping the score at 4-3.
Knaak, still searching for his first clean inning, struck out the side in the fourth, collecting his 6th, 7th, and 8th strikeouts to bounce back from the three-run third. In the bottom half, Becker walked McCladdie on four pitches before striking out Cannarella, then was replaced by right-hander Brandon Stone. Stone struck out Paino and got a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
In the fifth, Knaak struck out a season-high ninth batter. The defense stepped up with Purify making an impressive backhanded throw to get Petry at first. After throwing 101 pitches, Knaak left the game with two runners on (single, walk). Knaak (4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 9 K) handed the ball to sophomore Jacob McGovern, who got LeCroy to pop out, stranding the runners. In the bottom of the fifth, the Tigers put two on with two outs after Gaffney was hit by a pitch and Ciufo reached on an error. However, Listi grounded out, keeping the score at 4-3 in favor of Clemson.
The Gamecocks threatened in the sixth, as McGovern allowed a one-out single to Scobey and a walk to Hall. However, he got pinch-hitter Max Kaufer to strike out, ending the threat. In the bottom half, Cannarella singled for his second hit of the game, followed by Priest’s second hit on a two-out single. But Jarrell struck out, stranding Cannarella and Priest.
Clemson brought in Mahlstedt to replace McGovern (1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 K), and he retired the Gamecocks in order with a strikeout, groundout, and pop out.
In the bottom of the seventh, Purify blasted a homerun to left field, marking the first time since the second inning that a Tiger crossed the plate. His homer electrified Doug Kingsmore Stadium and gave Clemson a crucial insurance run, pushing the lead to 5-3 heading into the eighth.
Mahlstedt kept his perfect outing going, retiring the Gamecocks in order again and adding two more strikeouts to his tally. Stone did the same for South Carolina, sitting the Tigers down in order, including Cannarella. Stone, who replaced Becker in the fourth, went 4.2 innings, allowing three hits and a run while striking out six Tigers.
Mahlstedt, aiming for the nine-out save, had a shaky start to the ninth after hitting Jackson. He then struck out Hall and narrowly escaped a Gamecock threat when Kaufer’s flyout landed just short of the left field wall, causing a massive sigh of relief from all Clemson fans. Petry flew out to right for the final out, giving Mahlstedt (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 K) the save and securing Clemson’s 5-3 win in game one of the Palmetto Series.
“It’s a team moment,” Purify said of his seventh-inning homer. “The team motivated me, the fans motivated me, I just wanted to do my job.”
Up Next
Clemson and South Carolina continue the series tomorrow in Greenville, then head to Columbia on Sunday. First pitch tomorrow is set for 1:30 p.m., with the Tigers as the designated visiting team.
“I’m sure it’ll be electric at both places,” head coach Erik Bakich said about the rest of the series. “You’ve got the best rivalry in college baseball and two great fanbases, but ours is better.”
