Baseball Falls to Clemson in Friday Night Pitcher's Duel

COLUMBIA – Will Sanders struck out a career-high 14 batters and Carolina took a 2-1 lead on a solo home run from Josiah Sightler, but Clemson scored a run in the eighth and one in the ninth to defeat the University of South Carolina baseball team, 3-2, Friday night (March 4) at Founders Park.
 
Sanders went seven innings, allowing six hits and one run with five walks and the 14 strikeouts. He had a strikeout in each of the seven innings. Clemson’s Mack Anglin went toe-to-toe with Sanders. He allowed two hits and two runs with four walks and nine strikeouts.
 
Carolina took a 1-0 lead in the first on walks from Michael Braswell and Carson Hornung, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Andrew Eyster. Clemson answered with a run in the third on an RBI single by Cooper Ingle.
 
The score remained tied at one until the bottom of the sixth while Sightler hit a 431-foot shot to right field for his first home run of the season. Clemson tied the game at two on a solo home run from Jonathan French and took the lead in the ninth on an unearned run as Bryar Hawkins singled home Dylan Brewer.
 
Sightler and Braswell had two hits apiece, accounting for the four hits the Gamecocks had in the contest. The loss went to John Gilreath, who allowed an unearned run with a pair of strikeouts in an inning’s work.
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Will Sanders’ 14 strikeouts were the most by a Gamecock since Adam Hill had 14 vs. Clemson in 2018.
• Eyster now has seven career RBI vs. Clemson.
• Sightler had his eighth career home run in Friday’s game.
• The game was a sellout at Founders Park as 8,242 fans watched Friday’s game.

UP NEXT
Carolina and Clemson continue the series on Saturday afternoon (March 5) at Segra Park in Columbia, home of the Columbia Fireflies. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be on ACC Network Extra.