GREENVILLE, S.C. — With Clemson up a run in the top of the sixth inning, third base coach Nick Schnabel made an aggressive call.
It turned out to be the right call, and the eventual game-winning run in No. 13 Clemson’s 5-1 victory over rival South Carolina at Fluor Field. The play allowed the Tigers to clinch their weekend series against the Gamecocks, the program’s eighth in the last 11 years against its rival.
The winning run came after Clemson (9-1) had just scored the game’s first run. Cam Cannarella doubled to the gap in left centerfield to score Dominic Listi from second base.
Luke Gaffney then stepped up and connected on a swinging bunt that caused South Carolina catcher Talmadge LeCroy to run up to the left side of the pitcher’s mound. Noticing how far up LeCroy was in the field of play, and no one was covering home plate, Schnabel sent Cannarella home.
By the time LeCroy noticed it, Cannarella beat Ethan Petry’s throw home as LeCroy tried to get back and apply the tag.
Though it appeared to be a heady play by Cannarella, it is actually a situation the Tigers practice often.
“We do it all the time with two outs,” Clemson head coach Erik Bakich said. “We normally don’t do it with one out, but the way the catcher came all the way out to field that swinging bunt. It was just an aggressive play.
“Coach Schnabel sent him, and Cam did not break stride. It is one thing to send him, but it is another thing for the base runner to main full throttle and go for it. Cam had a hell of slide at the plate and avoided the tag, but it was a great and aggressive play.”
It came at a good time for the Tigers because Carolina pitcher Jake McCoy was carving them up. The lefty had 11 strikeouts on Clemson’s first 18 at-bats.
“In that type of game and in that moment, we were getting carved up a bit by McCoy,” Bakich said. “We had an opportunity to apply pressure there, so we had to do it. Thankfully it worked, but that was an awesome play at the time.”
It was a play that helped Clemson win another series against the Gamecocks, and, thanks to Friday’s win, a chance to sweep them in Columbia on Sunday.
The rivals will conclude their three-game series Sunday at 5 p.m., from Founders Park in Columbia.