Instant Replay: SC 4 Clemson 1
By: rmacrae@bellsouth.net March 1, 2015

By Trey McCurry.

GREENVILLE, SC — Here is a look back at Clemson’s (6-3) 4-1 loss to #10 South Carolina (7-2) on Saturday afternoon at Fluor Field.

 

 

 

What happened?

The Tigers struck first with a run in the top of the first inning as Tyler Krieger doubled down the left field line to score Reed Rohlman who had a one-out single. The Gamecocks answered with three runs (on five hits) in the second to take a 3-1 lead. South Carolina would add to their lead with an unearned run in the third and wrap up the scoring in the game despite several threats from both teams, including Clemson loading the bases with one out in the sixth and no outs in the seventh.

Game-Changing Moment:

The game featured a couple of major game changing moments. With the Tigers holding a 1-0 lead, South Carolina came out swinging in the second inning. The Gamecocks had five of their seven total hits in the inning with back-to-back doubles to get things started and then three bouncers through the right side.

As mentioned above, Clemson had two major scoring chances in both the sixth and seventh innings but were unable to capitalize. Back-to-back one out walks in the sixth and a Steven Duggar single loaded the bases, but Chris Okey struck out and Weston Wilson hit a hard grounder to third to end the threat. The next inning the Tigers loaded the bases with no outs but was again unable to push anything across as Tyler Slaton struck out and Rohlman hit into a double play.

What went right?

Despite taking the loss, Zack Erwin had a nice outing for Clemson as threw 6.1 innings of four run (three earned) ball on seven hits with no walks and five strikeouts. Paul Campbell had a solid relief appearance, throwing 1.2 no-hit innings. Offensively, Krieger continued his hot start as he was the only player in the game for either team to pick up multiple hits. 

What went wrong?

The Tigers could not hold on to an early 1-0 lead and missed several opportunities to plate some runs as seven of the nine runners left on base were stranded in scoring position. Clemson was unable to recover from one tough inning and had too many strikeouts on the day as Gamecock pitchers recorded 13 Ks during the game.