By Will Vandervort.

As Clemson was celebrating Chris Okey’s three-run homer in the bottom of the third inning Friday night, Clemson athletic trainer Rick Franzblau carried a sledgehammer onto the field to greet the Tigers’ starting catcher at home plate.

Okey then took the hammer and put it on his shoulder while carrying it into the dugout as his teammates celebrated.

It was a fitting thing to do as Clemson hammered No. 10 South Carolina 11-4 in Game 1 of the weekend series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. It also ended the Gamecocks’ four-game winning streak in the rivalry, while also giving the Tigers confidence heading into Saturday’s and Sunday’s game.

“I really feel like we played well tonight,” Clemson head coach Jack Leggett said. “We had a great approach I think going into the ballgame. They had a good focus and I could tell when they showed up to the ball game today they had a purpose in mind.”

Clemson and USC will play at 2:30 p.m. at Greenville’s Fluor Field on Saturday.

The Tigers totaled 12 hits and had three home runs, including two from Weston Wilson, who got to carry the hammer twice – a new tradition Franzblau, who is in his first year with the baseball program, started.

“Whenever you hit a home run, you get to carry the sledge hammer around,” Wilson said.

Clemson has scored at least 10 runs in four of the last five games and 10 or more hits in six straight games. Okey and Wilson each had four RBIs.

“We got some big hits,” Leggett said.

Clemson (6-2) blew the game open early after a four-run bottom of the first. With runners on first and second with no outs, Okey took Wil Crowe’s first pitch off the wall in left centerfield to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead at the time.

“Okey’s three-run homer was big,” Leggett said. “We had guys on first and second base and we were thinking about how we were going to get them over and he got a fastball and did something with it.”

Wilson then followed with a shot of his own to right centerfield on the very next at-bat to make the score 8-0.

The back-to-back home runs were the first by the Tigers since John Hinson and Richie Shaffer went back-to-back in the 2010 Super Regional win over Alabama. Clemson won that game 19-5.

“Weston got two big hits for us, two big home runs,” Leggett said. “The ball is a little bit different, which helps both teams. (Connor) Bright hit a good ball, too. It gives us a chance now.”

The Tigers grabbed a 4-0 advantage in the bottom of the first inning when Krieger got an infield single to score Slaton, who led off the inning after getting on base on a catcher’s interference.

Okey then singled up the middle to score Krieger and the Duggar and Okey came home when Pender tripled down the right field line for a 4-0 lead.

After Okay and Wilson went yard, the Gamecocks rallied for three runs in the top of the fourth inning as Connor Bright homered to left centerfield.

Clemson starter Matthew Crownover earned the win for the Tigers despite having an off night. The lefty gave up four earned runs and six hits in only five innings of work. He walked four batters though he did fan seven as well.

With Clemson still leading 8-3 in the top of the fifth inning, the Gamecocks loaded the bases but first baseman Kyle Martin popped up to left field for the first out. USC did push one run across when Wilson booted the ball at third on a fielder’s choice from Bright, scoring Gene Cone.

However, Crownover was able to get Alex Destino and DC Arendas to strikeout, ending the threat and securing his four-run lead.

The Gamecocks (6-2) loaded the bases again with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, but relief pitcher Alex Schnell got out of the jam when Martin hit Max Schrock who was running to second base. Martin’s hit could have been a two-run scoring hit, but instead it ended the inning and kept the Tigers in front, 8-4.

Wilson made up for his earlier error by hitting his second home run of the game a bomb to left centerfield that scored Krieger and Duggar.

Clemson’s 11 runs were the most by either team in the series since the Tigers scored 19 in a 19-6 victory in Columbia in 2010.