Recap: Gamecocks suffer first loss of season

South Carolina faced rival Clemson Saturday afternoon at Fluor Field in Greenville. It was the second of three games between the two Palmetto State schools this weekend. Here is a recap of what happened:

LINESCORE

USC (10-1) - 000 000 000: 0-2-2

CLE (7-2) - 110 021 00x: 5-5-0

WP – Clate Schmidt (3-0)

LP – Braden Webb (2-1)

SV – Pat Krall (1)

HR – Cle, Pinder (6th, none on).

HIGHLIGHTS:

-- After USC went down quietly in the top of the first inning, USC starter Braden Webb yielded a one-out double off the huge LF wall and a walk to put two runners on base. But he got the dangerous Seth Beer to fly out to medium CF on a check swing. Webb issued his second walk to load the bases with two outs. His third walk forced home a run, giving Clemson a 1-0 lead.

*** ALSO SEE: USC-Clemson Game 2 Photo Gallery ***

-- Webb fanned the first two Clemson batters in the bottom of the second before Pinder tripled to straightaway CF. He scored when L.T. Tolbert first fumbled and then threw errantly to first on a sharp grounder by Rohlman. Webb struckout his third Clemson batter of the inning to keep the score at 2-0.

-- The Gamecocks got their first baserunner in the top of the third when Cone walked. He was sacrificed to second by Mooney but an F—8 and 3-1 groundout ended the inning.

-- Webb worked around a leadoff single in the bottom of the third and a two-out walk in the fourth. But he kept the Tigers off the scoreboard, keeping the deficit at 2-0.

-- Schmidt’s domination of the Gamecock hitters continued through the first two batters in the top of the fifth until a two-out walk to Cone, his second free pass of the day. But Mooney fanned on a checked swing to end the inning. Through 5 innings, the Gamecocks were hitless and managed to get just one ball out of the infield vs. Schmidt.

-- Clemson expanded its lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth on a walk, muffed throw from Webb by first baseman Alex Destino and a two-run triple to RCF by Chris Okey. Brandon Murray replaced Webb on the mound and got the final two outs with a foul pop and fly ball sandwiching a HBP.

-- After Thompson-Williams walked, the Gamecocks finally recorded their first hit off Schmidt in the top of the sixth, putting runners at 2&3 with 1 out. Jones walked to load the bases for Destino. Clemson brought in LHP Pat Krall to face Destino, who represented the tying run, and the strategy worked as Destino struckout swinging for the second out.

-- Freshman catcher Chris Cullen came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. He worked the count full before looking at strike three on a pitch that was clearly too close to take. Thus, the Gamecocks failed to score despite having runners at second and third with one out.

-- The Gamecocks paid dearly for their missed opportunity when Clemson’s Chase Ponder crushed the first pitch from Murray over the giant left field wall for a solo homer leading off the bottom of the sixth.

-- Badly needing a spark offensively, USC went down quietly in the top of the seventh, keeping their hit total at one. Same thing in the top of the eighth. Destino collected USC’s second hit of the afternoon with a one-out single in the top of the ninth but the Gamecocks ran out of outs as they suffered their first loss of the season.

HOW THE RUNS SCORED:

CLE 1st – Pinder struckout, Rohlman doubled to left, White walked, Beer flied to center, Wilson walked, Okey walked (RBI), Jolly grounded into fielder’s choice (U-6). ONE RUN, ONE HIT (CLE 1-0).

CLE 2nd – Williams struckout, Renwick struckout, Pinder tripled to centerfield, Rohlman reached on throwing error (E4)(run scores), White struckout. ONE RUN, ONE HIT (CLE 2-0).

CLE 5th – White struckout, Beer walked, Wilson reached on fielding error (E3), Okey tripled to right-center (2 RBI), <MURRAY FOR WEBB>, Jolly fouled out to third, Williams hit by pitch. Renwick flied to right. TWO RUNS, ONE HIT (CLE 4-0).

CLE 6th – Pinder homered to left (RBI), Rohlman struckout, White grounded to third, Beer grounded to second. ONE RUN, ONE HIT (CLE 5-0).

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