COLUMBIA, S.C. — Andrew Ciufo had seen enough.
South Carolina reliever Garrett Gainey struck out six Clemson batters in three and 2/3 innings of work and each time, the Gamecocks’ lefty would do some kind of celebration as he walked around the mound.
Sometimes he evened highlighted the Carolina script on his jersey as he baffled the Tigers for three-plus innings.
However, there was no celebrating from Gainey after Ciufo sent a 2-0 offering over the wall in left centerfielder in the 12th inning, as No. 10 Clemson beat the 19th-ranked Gamecocks, 5-4, Saturday at Segra Park in Columbia.
“We try not to pay attention to (Gainey’s antics), especially in a rivalry like this,” Ciufo said after the game. “Like I said, we expect it. We expect a lot of emotions from both sides.
“We just tried to stay on us and focus on what we needed to do.”
Ciufo’s walk-off home run marked the Tigers’ first walk-off home run against the Gamecocks in the history of the rivalry.
“That is pretty special,” he said. “Again, I just have to say my team from inning one to (twelve) just did not give up. We stayed tough the entire time. We knew we had enough, but it was just a matter of time of who was going to do it. Who was going to be the guy.”
For eight and 1/3 innings, Clemson’s pitching staff had Clemson in position to beat rival South Carolina.
However, the Gamecocks (8-2) still had two more outs and they made the most of them. USC scored three runs on three hits in the top of the ninth inning, including a game-tying Ethan Petry two-run home run to right field.
Trailing 4-1 at the start of the ninth inning, the Gamecocks began their rally when Will Tippett singled to right and scored on a Blake Jackson triple to right center after Clemson’s Aiden Mathis misplayed the ball in right field.
That mistake proved costly again when Petry took reliever Lucas Mahlstedt’s offering, which was down and outside with one out, to right field to tie the game at 4, forcing extra innings.
Unfortunately for Clemson, the Tigers wasted a solid outing by starter Tristan Smith, who struck out nine batters in a no-decision. Centerfielder Cam Cannarella had two doubles and drove in two runs.
The Tigers (9-1) thought they sealed the win in front of 9,284 fans when Jacob Hinderleider sent a two-run home run to deep left field in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Clemson finished the game with 12 hits. Most of the damage came from the bottom of Clemson’s order as Ciufo had three hits in six at-bats, while Nolan Nawrocki (2-for-5) and Hinderleider (2-for-4, 2 RBIs) each had two hits. They hit sixth, seventh and eighth in the Clemson order.
After missing a couple of opportunities to score earlier in the game, the Tigers finally broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning when Cannarella doubled to left centerfield to plate Ciufo and Jarren Purify. Cannarella’s double came on a 1-2 count with two outs to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
The Gamecocks made the score 2-1 in the top of the fifth inning with a Tippett long ball to left centerfield.
Both teams had a chance to dent the scoreboard early in the game. South Carolina had a runner in scoring position with one out in the top of the first, but Smith retired the side with back-to-back strikeouts.
Smith, who finished the afternoon with nine strikeouts, ended every inning he pitched with a strikeout. The lefty gave up just one run on three hits, a walk and three hit batters. Smith’s lone mistake came in the top of the fifth inning when Tippett led off the inning with a sole home run to left center.
After Cannarella opened the Clemson first with a double to left field, he got no further than second as USC’s Eli Jones got Will Taylor to pop up to first base and Blake Wright to strikeout swinging before Jimmy Obertop was fanned to end the threat.
In the third, the Tigers got Mathes to third base with two outs, but again Jones got out of the inning with no damage done when Obertop check-swinged down the first baseline for an easy 1-3 putout.
Though Jones gave up nine hits to the Tigers, only one of his 76 pitches was a mistake – the 1-2 slider to Cannarella that gave the Tigers the 2-0 lead in the fourth. Jones, USC’s Friday night starter, had four strikeouts and no walks.
The Gamecocks had a shot to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning, but Ciufo robbed Parker Noland of a game-tying hit. With Talmadge LeCroy sitting on third base, Ciufo picked Noland’s ball off the ground deep in the hole at short and made an unbelievable throw to first for the putout to end the inning.
Clemson loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Wright’s rocket on a 2-0 pitch from reliever Chris Veach went straight to USC Tippett at short.
USC had another opportunity to tie the game in the eighth inning, as LeCroy got a one-out hit and got to second with two outs following a Tyler Causey drawn walk. However, reliever Ethan Darden got out of the inning by getting Noland to swing at the fifth pitch of the at-bat.
The Tigers finally got some breathing room in the bottom of the eighth inning when Hinderleider took Matthew Becker’s third offering to deep leftfield for a two-run home run and a 4-1 lead.
INJURIES
Clemson’s Cam Cannarella started the game in centerfield. He injured his shoulder in Clemson’s win over Presbyterian on Feb. 20 and did not play in this past Tuesday’s win over USC Upstate. He was the designated hitter for Clemson last weekend.
Clemson catcher Jacob Jarrell did not play. He is still out following surgery last week. He was hit in the face by a pitch in the Tigers’ win over PC. He is expected to miss the next few weeks.
UP NEXT
Clemson and South Carolina will play the second game of the series Sunday at 2 p.m. at Clemson’s Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Get your signed Valerie Cagle replica road sign today. The nation’s top player has signed a limited number of these signs that have the same properties as a road sign.
