Baseball Battles Back but Falls to Clemson in the Ninth
March 4, 2018
CLEMSON, S.C. – Drew Wharton’s RBI triple in the bottom of the ninth gave Clemson an 8-7 win over the University of South Carolina baseball team Sunday afternoon (March 4) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Gamecocks battled back from being down 6-0 at one point to tie the game at seven in the ninth before the Tigers’ walk-off hit.
Clemson got on the board in the first on a solo home run from Patrick Cromwell. After freshman lefty John Gilreath struck out the side in the second, he gave up a pair of runs in the third on a Cromwell single. The Tigers scored three times in the fourth, the big hit an RBI double from Logan Davidson.
Carolina open the fifth inning with back-to-back singles from Justin Row and Noah Campbell. They trotted home on TJ Hopkins’ first home run of the season, a moon shot to left field that cut Clemson’s lead in half.
The Gamecocks added a run in the sixth as Jonah Bride walked and went to third on Jacob Olson’s double. Bride scored on an RBI groundout by Carlos Cortes, making it 6-4 Clemson.
Davidson’s solo shot in the sixth put the Tigers up 7-4 but South Carolina got one back in the eighth on an RBI infield single from Cortes that scored Olson.
Campbell reached on an error to lead off the top of the ninth. After a strikeout, Madison Stokes walked. LT Tolbert then doubled in the right field gap to score Campbell and cut the led to 7-6. Chris Cullen’s sacrifice fly scored pinch runner Danny Blair to tie the game at seven. The Tigers led off the ninth with a fly out but a walk was followed by Wharton’s hit.
The Gamecocks got two hits apiece from Campbell and Olson while Hopkins had two hits and drove in three runs. Gilreath struck out five in 3.2 innings in his start, allowing seven hits and six runs. Ridge Chapman pitched 1.1 scoreless innings of relief, while Eddy Demurias struck out three in 2.2 innings of work. The loss went to Carmen Mlodzinski, who allowed a hit and a run in two-third of an inning.
GAMECHANGER
Clemson was in cruise control through the first four innings but South Carolina got back-to-back hits from Row and Campbell before Hopkins’ home run, his first of the season, to left field.
KEY STAT
Every starter had a hit on the day except for Cullen, who drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth, and Stokes, who walked three times.
NOTABLE
- Adam Hill earned the Tom Price Award after the game, given to the Most Valuable Player from South Carolina in this series. Hill struck outh 14 batters in seven innings in Friday’s win.
- With Hopkins’ home run today, 11 Gamecocks have home runs on the season.
- Gamecock pitching struck out 10 batters in today’s game, five from Gilreath, three from Demurias and two by Ridge Chapman.
- Today’s attendance at Doug Kingsmore Stadium was 6,312 with the three-game series attracting21,939 fans.
UP NEXT
South Carolina will face Appalachian State Tuesday night (March 6) at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, N.C., home of the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. First pitch, weather permitting, is scheduled for 6 p.m.
