By Trey McCurry.

COLUMBIA, SC — Here is a look back at Clemson’s (7-3) 7-0 win over #8 South Carolina (7-3) on Monday afternoon at Carolina Stadium to win the regular-season series between rivals for the first time since 2010.

What happened?

The Tigers struck first with a run in the second inning as Chase Pinder reached on a fielding error, moved to second base on a Andrew Cox single, and came in to score on a single by Eli White. Clemson added another run in the third inning when Tyler Krieger hit a one-out single, advanced to third on a Steven Duggar double, and came in to score on a Chris Okey sac fly. The Tigers added three insurance runs in the seventh inning as Reed Rohlman got the rally started with a single and Krieger followed with another single. Rohlman came in to score on another double by Duggar followed by a RBI groundout from Okey to plate Krieger before Duggar scored the final run on a wild pitch. Clemson would push their final two runs across in the ninth inning to solidify the win. Tyler Slaton led off the inning with a HBP and stole second base before coming in to score on a Rohlman double. Rohlman plated the final run by advancing to third on a wild pitch and heading home a throwing error on the Gamecocks.

Game-Changing Moment:

Despite the early runs, the game really changed in the sixth and seventh innings. With the Tigers holding a 2-0 lead, South Carolina’s first two runners reached base for their best scoring threat of the day. Clemson starter Brody Koerner then got Max Schrock to ground into a double play before striking out Kyle Martin to end the inning and the threat. Clemson would answer with three runs in the top half of the next inning and Koerner shut down the Gamecocks the rest of the way to secure the win.

What went right?

Koerner gave the Tigers everything they could have asked for, and more, in his first appearance against South Carolina. The junior righty allowed only four hits (and just two Gamecocks past first base) while throwing his first career complete game and the first complete game shutout for a Clemson pitching in Columbia since 1968. Offensively, seven different Tigers recorded a hit as Rohlman (3), Krieger (2), and Duggar (2) each had multi-hit games. Defensively, Clemson did not commit an error and the Tigers turned two double plays on the infield. 

What went wrong?

On a day where Clemson shut out the Gamecocks for the first time ever in Carolina Stadium and the first time overall at home since 1998, it’s hard to find many things that went wrong. However, despite the score, the Tigers had several more chances to push across runs as they stranded eight runners in the game, including five in scoring position.