South Carolina powers past Clemson, clinches series

Talmadge LeCroy rounded third, the smile never wavering from his face.

The echoes of Sandstorm were still blaring as he skipped toward home, celebrating the second of back-to-back homers, flexing somewhat toward the South Carolina dugout. 

“It felt great,” LeCroy said.

The in-state kid delivered one of the bigger swings in the game, capping a three-run fourth that paced the Gamecocks to a series-clinching 7-1 win over Clemson Sunday afternoon at Founders Park. 

[Subscribe to Gamecock Central until Aug. 31 for only $29.99!]

For LeCroy, that was his second of two big hits over the last two games and a rubber stamp on a power-happy day for the Gamecocks headlined by two Gavin Casas homers. 

The win marks the first time since 2012 South Carolina lost the first game to Clemson and came back to win the series. It’s also the first time since the 2011-12 academic year South Carolina beat its rival in football, baseball and both men’s and women’s basketball. 

Friday night was the first bit of adversity we had to handle this year. We had a couple of close games. But for the most part that was the first bit of adversity, we had to handle. The way we talked in the dugout after the game was perfect. We said it was one of those games, come out ready to go tomorrow,” Mark Kingston said.

“It’s big. I’m glad our fans are able to celebrate this. They’ve had a chance to celebrate a lot of success recently athletically and I’m happy we can be another part of that.” 

And the Gamecocks (11-1) did it on the backs of their big bats, slugging their way to the rivalry series win. 

[Become an NIL supporter of your South Carolina Gamecocks!]

South Carolina jumped on Clemson early, putting up runs in four of the first five innings with five of the team’s first six hits going for extra bases. 

After a Cole Messina RBI single in the first, Gavin Casas launched a first-pitch homer to left field and would do it again in the fourth inning. 

With a runner at first, Casas connected, sending a ball into orbit with a 407-foot, behemoth two-run shot.

Cass is now hitting .308 on the year with seven of his 12 hits homers.

“It’s been great. He’s a kid that loves the game of baseball. He comes from a big-time baseball family and it’s great to see him have this kind of success. He’s worked hard for it,” Kingston said.

“It was a bit of a leap of faith when you take a player who had been at another program and didn’t have a whole lot of experience or success. But we did our homework. We were aware of his background and what he might be able to do with a change of scenery. We’re happy we added him.”

LeCroy followed five pitches later with a solo shot of his own. 

A day after delivering the then game-tying single, LeCroy finished 2-for-4 on the day, driving in a pair of runs. 

“The whole weekend they were pitching around me so I had to take my walks. Every single time Talmage came through,” Casas said. “It’s nice to know we have a lot of different weapons in our lineup. There aren’t a lot of easy outs.” 

[Subscribe for free to Gamecock Central’s YouTube page!]

And it was enough for a South Carolina pitching staff to work with. 

Jack Mahoney only gave up a run, pitching out of trouble most of his outing. He’d put a runner on in each of his four innings but held Clemson to just 1-for-12 with runners on while he was pitching. 

“He had to handle some business there. He got out of it and minimized it. We talk all the time about minimizing damage and giving our offense a chance to get going again,” Kingston said. “He only gave up one run. It was important cause it allowed us to grab that momentum.”

It wasn’t until James Hicks came in that things really took off. Hicks was dominant in innings to close the game, scattering two hits while motoring through five scoreless. 

Hicks (3-0) struck out six and dominated Clemson’s offense from the time he stepped on the mound until the final out. 

“He throws that sinker ball,” LeCroy said. “Man, it’s just unhittable.” 

Up next: South Carolina has a two-midweek week, the first coming Tuesday at home against the Citadel. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. on SEC Network Plus. 

Discuss South Carolina baseball on The Insiders Forum!