CLEMSON — Maybe it was poetic justice.

Maybe it was the Baseball Gods.

Maybe it was just the Clemson-South Carolina Rivalry.

Regardless, it was fitting that a former Clemson Tiger gave up a home run as a South Carolina pitcher during No. 11 Clemson’s 7-2 victory Sunday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The win clinched the weekend series for the Tigers – their third straight series win over the Gamecocks and their ninth in the last 12 years.

Hudson Lee pitched at Clemson last year but transferred to South Carolina after posting a 5.79 ERA through 14 innings of work in 15 relief appearances.

With the Tigers (10-1) already holding a two-run lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, Ty Dalley, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, jumped on Lee’s offering and sent it 383 feet to right field.

The home run gave Clemson a 5-2 lead and all but ended any hopes the Gamecocks had of a dramatic comeback. When the game was over, the Tigers walked on to Tiger Field and celebrated with their teammates.

They celebrated as if they have been there before, a sharp contrast to what many saw following Game 1 of the series on Friday night at South Carolina’s Founder’s Park in Columbia, S.C.

The only thing the Gamecocks’ needed after their lone win between the rivals was a ticker-tape parade in downtown Columbia. By the way pitcher Alex Valentin celebrated after closing out the game, one might have thought Carolina won another College World Series.

It served its purpose though.

“Obviously, we sat and watched kind of how he reacted after the Friday night win,” Dalley said. “We went back to the hotel and we flushed it. We knew it, it was in the back of our heads. But we did not show that type of emotion.

“We just came out here and got two gritty wins and won the series. So, that’s what we expected to do.”

Clemson first got a 4-1 win in Game 2 on a “neutral field” a Segra Park in Columbia, and the Tigers did it behind the left arm of senior Michael Sharman, who won the Bob Bradley Award as Clemson’s best player in the series.

Sharman pitched a gem, throwing just 78 pitches (67 strikes) in a complete game victory. However, there was no showboating or taunting at the South Carolina dugout when shortstop Tyler Lichtenberger threw over to second baseman Jarren Purify for the final out. The Tigers’ victory celebration was mild, to say the least.

On Sunday, Clemson rallied from a 2-0 hole by scoring seven unanswered runs. Tryston McCladdie drove in two runs. Lichtenberger drove in two runs himself, including what was the eventual game winner, while Dalley recorded 2 RBIs as well, including his home run off Lee in the bottom of the fourth.

In the end, following a Nate Savoie to Luke Gaffney putout to end the game, the Tigers were celebrating another win over the Gamecocks, and another series win as well.

“I am totally good with celebrating big wins. This was huge. This series is huge. I think for me, the line is when it goes from celebrating (with) your team to directing your energy to the other team,” Clemson head coach Erik Bakich said. “That is probably the only distinction I would make.”

So, when Dalley launched his bomb after Lee’s offering in the fourth inning. He celebrated. However, he celebrated with Purify when he touched home plate and then he celebrated with his teammates on the way to the Clemson dugout.

Regardless, it was poetic justice because it came against a former Tiger who defected to the hated Gamecocks.