Clemson routs Gamecocks to clinch series
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Nick Hoffmann pitched five strong innings and Clemson scored four runs in the fourth inning to take the lead for good in its 10-2 victory over South Carolina at Segra Park Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers, who took a 2-0 lead in the series, improved to 10-0, while the Gamecocks dropped to 7-3. Clemson is 10-0 in a season for the first time since 2002.
On Sunday, the Tigers will be going for its first sweep of the Gamecocks since 1999, when the Tigers won both games played that year.
Clemson has not won three straight games over South Carolina in a single season since the 2006 Tigers won the last three of the four games they played that season. The last time either team has swept the other in a season came in 2014 when the Gamecocks won three games.
In the current three-game format, which began in 2010, the Tigers have never swept USC.
In Saturday’s game, the Gamecocks took advantage of two errors in the first inning to score a run, Clemson’s first unearned run allowed in 2022. In the fourth inning, Cooper Ingle slapped a one-out single to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, then he scored on a wild pitch. Three batters later, Chad Fairey ripped a two-run single to give Clemson the lead. Benjamin Blackwell later added a run-scoring single with two outs.
Clemson extended its lead to 5-1 in the fifth inning on an error, then South Carolina responded with a run on Kevin Madden’s run-scoring single in the top of the sixth inning. Max Wagner led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a double and scored on a wild pitch, then Clemson added three insurance runs in the seventh inning on two bases-loaded walks and Dylan Brewer’s sacrifice fly. Wagner brought home Clemson’s 10th run on a run-scoring single in the eighth inning.
Hoffmann (2-0) earned the win in a starting role. He gave up five hits, one unearned run and no walks with one strikeout in 5.0 innings pitched. Gamecock starter Noah Hall (0-1) suffered the loss, as he yielded three hits, three runs and two walks with three strikeouts in 3.1 innings pitched.
The series concludes Sunday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson at 3 p.m. The game will be televised by the ACC Network.