Tigers take game one from Gamecocks

Cooper Ingle hit a first pitch home run.

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Fri Mar 03 23:12:28 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Rain may have delayed the game, but the Tigers didn’t waste any time jumping all over South Carolina.

Cooper Ingle set the tone with a first-pitch blast over the left-field wall for Clemson’s (5-4) 5-2 series-opening win over No. 23 South Carolina (9-1) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium Friday night. The Tigers have now won five in a row over the Gamecocks.

Freshman Cam Cannarella had three hits – two doubles – and RBI. Blake Wright added two hits. Ingle and Gavin Abrams each had home runs for Clemson.

Jackson Lindley – who came on in the fifth in relief of starter Alex Gordon – picked up his first win of the season to improve to 1-1. Lindley pitched two-and-a-third innings and gave up one run on two hits. He walked one and struck out three.

South Carolina starter Will Sanders pitched six innings in the losing effort. Sanders gave up five runs – four earned – on nine hits. He walked one and struck out nine. He threw 93 total pitches – 63 for strikes.

Ingle launched the first pitch of the game – a fastball – just over the out-stretched glove of the Gamecock left fielder for a home run – his third of the season. Wright shot a double down the right field line that rolled all the way to the wall, and Cannarella followed with a double of his own down the third base line to plate Wright at give Clemson a 2-0 lead after one inning.

Clemson added a run in the second inning in a highly unconventional way.

Chad Fairey singled to shallow right field to lead off the inning and reached second on a ground ball to the second baseman. Ingle struck out but reached base on the passed ball. The catcher air-mailed the throw to first, allowing Fairey to score standing up to give Clemson a 3-0 lead after two innings.

Wright lined a single to center to lead off the third inning. Cannarella then lofted a ball down the left field line to the wall that bounced off the heel of the left fielder’s glove to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Wright scored on a ground ball to the shortstop to extend Clemson’s lead to 4-0 in the third inning.

Clemson starting pitcher Austin Gordon was pulled in favor of Jackson Lindley with two on and two out in the fifth inning. Gordon gave up just three hits, struck out, and walked none. He threw 94 total pitches and 62 for strikes.

Sophomore Gavin Abrams replaced Jack Crighton as Clemson’s designated hitter. Abrams hit a no-doubter over the Cajun Café for his first career home run and a 5-0 Clemson lead after six innings.

Gavin Casas led off the seventh for South Carolina with a five-pitch walk. Ethan Petry followed with a single to left field to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Talmadge LeCroy lined a single to center that scored Casas and put runners on the corners.

Lindley struck out Carson Hornung for the first out. Former Clemson outfielder Dylan Brewer came into pinch hit and bounced a ground ball to the shortstop for an inning-ending double play. The Gamecocks cut Clemson’s lead to 5-1.

South Carolina added a run in the ninth on a fielding error by Cannarella.

The Tigers and Gamecocks will travel to Fluor Field in Greenville for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. Game three of the series will be in Columbia with a 1:30 scheduled first pitch.