Drew Wharton tripled off the wall in right field on a 2-2 count from pitcher Carmen Miodzinski, scoring Robert Jolly from first base as No. 7 Clemson stunned rival and 23rd-ranked South Carolina, 8-7, Sunday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson.

“I honestly do not remember that much from the at-bat,” Wharton said. “He started me off with slider, slider, slider, slider and I knew he had a good fastball so I just stuck with my two-strike approach and I was ready for it when he threw it.

“It was kind of up-and-out and I put a good swing on it. I was just praying that Jolly had the wheels to get home and he did so that was awesome.”

Sunday’s win was also awesome for the the Tigers (10-1) because it marked the third straight year Clemson lost the opening game of its baseball series with rival South Carolina, and won the last two games to win the series.

The win also allowed Clemson to clinch the series over the Gamecocks for a fourth straight season.

“I’m proud of our program,” Clemson head coach Monte Lee said after moving to 3-0 against the Gamecocks. “I’m proud to be a part of a program that has been able to do it for three consecutive years, really four consecutive years. It has been four years in a row we have won this series and it is because of the competitive nature of this team, playing team-oriented baseball.”

It marks the first time since the 1986-’89 era that Clemson has beat the Gamecocks four straight years in a series.

“It is unreal because South Carolina is a great team every single year,” Wharton said. “Especially the way it ended last year with Seth (Beer) hitting that big home run late like that and this year with me hitting my walk-off right there so it could very easily be them up 2-0 right now, winning the last two.

“That is just how good this rivalry is. It is unreal.”

The Gamecocks (7-5) rallied to score two runs in the top of the ninth inning when L.T. Tolbert doubled to right center to score Noah Campbell with one out and then Chris Cullen flied out to centerfield to score Danny Blair.

“It definitely shakes us up a little bit, them getting two runs to make it 7-7, but we know we have a really composed group,” Wharton said. “If we just stay within our approaches and just be relaxed and not try do too much up their we were going to be fine.”

Wharton blew the USC comeback apart when he tripled off the wall in right for the game-winner with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Jolly, who had reached on a walk before Wharton stepped to the plate.

“It is awesome, especially to be here my first year, and never lose a series to South Carolina. That is one of the reasons why I came here,” Wharton said. “Ever since I was ten years old  and coming to baseball games here, I always wanted to come here and play against South Carolina, the best of the best in this series, the greatest rivalry in college baseball, so to walk it off like that senior year for four years in a row, to win the series against them, it is unreal.”

Patrick Cromwell and Logan Davidson led the Tigers at the plate. Cromwell went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs and a solo home run, while Davidson had two hits, drew two walks, drove in two runs and also had a solo home run.

Clemson grabbed an early 1-0 lead over South Carolina in the bottom of the first inning when third baseman Patrick Cromwell sent John Gilreath’s first pitch over the wall in left-centerfield.

The blast was Cromwell’s second of the year and was his seventh RBI of the season and third in the series with the Gamecocks.

Clemson got two runs on a pair of hits in the bottom of the third inning to take a 3-0 lead on South Carolina.

The Tigers extended its lead to 2-0 when Chris Williams drove in Logan Davidson, who walked to lead off the inning, with a ground ball through the left side with one out. It was Williams’ second hit of the day.

Robert Jolly then brought Patrick Cromwell home with a slow roller to third base to extend the lead to 3-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, Clemson added to its lead with a pair of RBI hits with two outs from Logan Davidson and Patrick Cromwell giving the Tigers a 6-0 lead.

Justin Hawkins got things going with a one-out double and with two outs Davidson laced a ball into left field scoring Hawkins, putting Clemson up 4-0. The Gamecocks intentionally walked Seth Beer and both runners advanced on a wild pitch before Cromwell hit a two-run single to right field, extending the lead to 6-0.

The Gamecocks got on the board in the top of the fifth inning when T.J. Hopkins took Higginbotham’s 1-0 offering to left field to make the score, 6-3.

Higginbotham retired the side after the Hopkins’ home run, ending his afternoon after five compete innings. The redshirt sophomore allowed six hits and had three strikeouts.

After the South Carolina Gamecocks added another run in the top of the sixth inning, Clemson responded when Davidson homered to right field to make the score 7-4.

It was Davidson’s first home run of the season.

Clemson will host Wofford on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.