Gamecocks quiet Clemson bats, take series 2-1

It was likely going to take a big day from the Clemson offense for the Tigers to win Game 3 and clinch the series against South Carolina.

Instead, Clemson put up only one run in a 7-1 loss as the offense was unable to come through for the short-handed pitching staff.

South Carolina hit three home runs and Clemson didn’t score in its final seven at bats as South Carolina took the series 2-1. Clemson won Game 1 Friday night, before dropping each of the next two games.

“A tip of the cap to South Carolina. They totally outplayed us in every facet today. They swung the bats very well. They completely shut us down offensively,” Clemson coach Erik Bakich said. “Not much to say other than they straight up beat us. We’re not going to make excuses about it, we’re just going to get better. It sucks — hate losing. But they outplayed us and coached us.”

South Carolina took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Cole Messina, before Clemson tied it up in the next frame on an RBI single by Riley Bertram.

The Clemson bats would do no more damage the rest of the way. No Tigers player had more than one hit and as a team, Clemson struck out 10 times.

James Hicks earned the win for the Gamecocks, pitching five scoreless innings of relief. He finished with six strikeouts, while allowing only two hits.

“Hicks out of the bullpen I thought was one of the players of the game for them,” Bakich said. “A good running fastball, and we had no answers for him. I thought we made a lot of soft contact with less than two strikes. Really couldn’t get any momentum going offensively.”

For South Carolina, Gavin Casas hit a pair of home runs, while Talmadge LeCroy also homered.

“Obviously the three home runs, but even the outs were loud – multiple balls hit to the fence,” Bakich said. “They were just on the barrel all day. Credit to their offense. They really did some damage and we didn’t.”

With the loss, Clemson falls to 5-6 on the season. The Tigers have a pair of midweek games coming up this week — against East Tennessee State on Tuesday and Presbyterian on Wednesday.

Clemson is hoping to get back on track after dropping its second straight series.

“They were the better team today. There’s no question about it from anyone that was watching,” Bakich said. “We just need to find a way to be much more competitive than that. That’s the bottom line.”