After an extra day of waiting, the rivalry series between South Carolina and Clemson is ready to begin. The series-opener scheduled for Friday night between the two teams was rained out and will be rescheduled for later in the year, so now the battle begins today at a neutral site venue, Segra Park. First pitch between the two teams is set for 4 p.m. with broadcast coverage on ACC Network Extra.
ACC Network Extra is the same concept as SEC Network + and must be accessed through the ESPN app with login credentials from a television provider.
VIP: Talking points ahead of Carolina, Clemson|Leading off: Carolina vs. Clemson
TWELFH INNING:LeCroy hits the first pitch to the track in left, but caught. Casas takes two out of the zone, but doesn't get hit by a pitch yet, which has happened three times today. He pops a 3-1 pitch up to shallow right center. Two down. Causey adjudged to have gone around on a 2-2 pitch in the dirt.
Gainey back out there. Of course he strikes out Mathes looking. Obertop up. He hits the first pitch to about the same spot as Messina hit his. Two down. But Ciufo hits one over the wall in center. That'll end this one.Clemson 5 - Carolina 4
ELEVENTH INNING:Tippett chases a 2-2 fastball way up and out of the zone. One down. Jackson takes a full count pitch up and out of the zone for Ball 4. Close call goes Carolina's way. Brewer up. He's got a couple of hits and a walk today, butswings through a first pitch slider to go behind 0-1. He hits a bouncer to the right side of the mound. Hughes' only play is at first. Two down. Petry walked intentionally to put two on for Messina and Marchal is brought in to pitch. Messina takes the first two pitches - one for a ball, the next for a strike. Takes a big swing and fouls the third pitch back. Finally gets some barrel, but flies out to the track in center.
Hartsville on Hartsville. Gainey gets Cannarella to pop out to center. One down. Three-pitch K to Taylor. Four-pitch K to Wright. Made that top of the order look really easy there.Carolina 4 - Clemson 4
TENTH INNING:Casas gets hit by a pitch, but is erased on a double play ball off of Causey's bat. Noland goes down on strikes.
Gainey back out there. Nawrocki goes down singing. Hinderleider, the home run guy, grounds out to second. Purify strikes out to end the inning.Carolina 4 - Clemson 4
NINTH INNING:Tippett leads off the inning with a line drive to right center. Goes to second when the right fielder bobbles it. With Carolina having some righties due up, Clemson calling in RHP Mahlstedt. Sidewinder. Blake Jackson will pinch hit for Kennedy Jones. Jackson hits a fly ball to deep right center, and Mathes just absolutely misses the ball. Goes as a triple. Tippett scores standing up. Brewer up to the plate and falls behind 0-2. After fouling off about a half dozen pitches, Brewer pops up to third base. Petry and Messina will both be able to tie it with one swing. Petry goes down in the count 1-2. Takes a ball, then the blasts one over the right field wall. Tie ball game. Messina grounds out to short. Two down now. LeCroy grounds out to short to end the inning. Carolina at least forces the bottom of the ninth. Garrett Gainey comes in to pitch.
Gainey gets Mathes to pop out in foul territory to Tippett. Obertop goes behind 0-2. Grounds out to Tippett. Punch out ends the inning.Carolina 4 - Clemson 4
EIGHTH INNING:Messina swings through a couple of cutters, I think those are. Then Ks. Again. LeCroy drops a first pitch single to left and tries to hype up his dugout. Casas pops out to left along the foul line. Two down now for Causey. He walks. But Noland punches out. Carolina now 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-15 with runners on.
Nawrocki reaches on a "single" to third base. Play should be made. Then Hinderleider crunches a home run off of Becker. Line drive to left. No doubter. Purify strikes out. LeCroy fields that bouncer from Cannarella. Taylor gets hit by a pitch. Chapin on Dutch Fork violence. Brewer hauls in a pop up to end the inning.Clemson 4 - Carolina 1
SEVENTH INNING:Tippett grounds out to short. Jones back to the pitcher. Two quick outs. Brewer singles through the left side to put one on with two down for Petry. He hits a ground ball to the left side. Gobbled up by Ciufo. He's made some great plays today. I reckon I should have picked him as the SS. If he's going to glove like that and help out offensively, that's game-changing for them.
Becker enters, and gets a pop up to Noland by cleanup Mathes. Brewer coasts over and catches a pop out to right center. Two down for Becker on six pitches. Make that eight pitches and three outs as LeCroy fields a sinking liner and makes the throw to first.Clemson 2 - Carolina 1
SIXTH INNING:LHP Ethan Darden in, and Messina swings at the first pitch he sees, bouncing out to third base. LeCroy reaches on an infield single. Ciufo can't quite make the play on a ground ball to the six hole. Casas gets hit on an up-and-in fastball. Causey flies out to the wall in center. LeCroy moves to third base. Corners. Noland hits a ground ball to the left side Cuifo makes a diving stop and strong throw to first base. That ends the inning. I thought that was going to tie it up. It doesn't.
Nawrocki pops out to right. Eight-hold Hinderleider walks on four pitches. That's not great. Purify tries to drop a bunt. Messina's throw sails high and into the runner. Casas makes a leaping catch, then Purify collides with him. Purify gets the worst of it. He goes down and is tended to, but jogs off. Cannarella put on intentionally.Taylor put on non-intentionally. Goes from 2-2 to walk. Williams visits. Blake Wright up now for the Tigers. He hits a rocket, but the shift and positioning work. Noland is standing just on the opposite side of second base, and that was right at him.Clemson 2 - Carolina 1
FIFTH INNING:The Tippett Tribe members can stand up as he belts a 2-2 home run to left center after fouling off several two-strike pitches. Deficit cut in half. Jones pops up to shallow center. One on, one down after Brewer laces a 3-1 fastball to right field for a single. Smith's fastball is now 91-92 after being 94-95 all game so far. Mound visit as Petry and Messina come up. Well, Petry comes up. Brewer gets thrown out trying to steal, then Petry strikes out on a slider. That's 88 pitches for Smith. He's probably got one more.
Mathes lines a single to right to start the inning. Should be noted that Chris Veach is warming. Obertop sends a fly ball deep down the right field line. Petry makes the catch near over the shoulder for the first out of the inning. One down, and Matt Williams comes to visit. Veach enters. Strike 'em out, throw 'em out. Double play ends the inning.Clemson 2 - Carolina 1
FOURTH INNING:LeCroy gets plunked, and breaks for second on a full count pitch to Casas, who grounds out to second base. Runner on second with one down for Causey, who takes a 92mph FB for a strike to start the at-bat, then fans at a slider to go down 0-2. Causey gets a little jammed and his fly ball dies along the right field line. Caught for the second out, but LeCroy goes to third. Smith has been erratic, so Obertop going to have to be sharp back there. Noland takes a couple of fastballs to go behind 1-2. Goes down swinging at 94mph.
Ciufo reaches on an infield single to begin the inning. Tippett's throw didn't get there in time. Originally called out, replay overturned it. Jones freezes Nawrocki on a 2-2 fastball that's been consistently called a strike down and away. First real barrel of the game for either team as Hinderleider sharply singles back up the middle. I'm not real sure what to call what Purify hit, but it's towards the six hole. Was hard to tell if Tippett would catch it or play it on a hop. Plays it on a hop and gets an out at second base, but runners are now on the corners with two outs and the top of the order, Cannarella, up. Matt Williams visits. Cannarella can't pull the trigger on an inside pitch and goes behind 1-2, but then doubles over the head of Kennedy Jones, and that brings in two. LeCroy has a throwing error. Runners on the corners now. K ends the inning.Clemson 2 - Carolina 0
THIRD INNING:Kennedy Jones goes down on strikes to begin the inning. Brewer up, and the Tigers are shifting him to the right side. He goes to second on a wild pitch. Petry and Messina back up in RBI situations. Petry goes down on a full count pitch after fouling three straight pitches back. Messina fouls back a fastball on the first pitch of his at-bat. Messina does not like a 1-1 strike call at all, then strikes out swinging to end the inning. These guys are getting beat on these plus fastballs. Smith over 50 pitches, though. I just saw the replay of the 1-1 call, and it looked a strike to me.
Casas with a nice defensive play at first gloving and flipping to Jones to get Cannarella. Taylor fists a single to shallow left bringing up Wright. Big shift being played. Chopper hit, and Noland has to charge, which takes a double play out of the equation. Runner on second, two down now for Mathes. He hits a cap shot towards short. Tippett is playing up the middle and has no prayer. LeCroy can't cut it off, so it's a single to put runners on the corners. Another cap shot, this one fielded by Jones, who flips to first. Jones at 44 pitches.No score
SECOND INNING:Gavin Casas gets hit by a pitch, and Causey pops up to the catcher. One on, one down in three pitches. Noland up, and he takes the first pitch of his at-bat outside. Noland takes strike three on a breaking ball that seemed like it crossed high, but maybe not. He goes down looking at the same pitch Obertop was struck out on to end the last inning.
Ciufo gets a swinging bunt hit. Fake bunt and steal, but Messina guns out the runner. Great play there by the catcher. Bouncer over the second base bag gets through. Hinderleider flies out just shy of the track in right. Two down for Purify, who's making his second start of the season today. Jones goes behind 3-0 and Messina takes a trot out ot the mound. Runner steals, is safe, but he's called out for batters interference.No score
FIRST INNING:Tristan Smith, a mid-90s lefty with a good slider, goes 0-2 on Jones who's way behind a couple of fastballs. But he gets a slider he can handle and drops it to right. Goes to second on an attempted bunt for hit by Brewer, but he's thrown out at first base. Petry falls behind 1-2, but gets hit with a 2-2 95mph fastball. Bakich challenges the ruling, saying Petry leaned into it, but call upheld. Two on for Messina. He goes ahead 2-0, but then strikes out on three straight. Not what I thought we'd see there. Messina is the guy I've had circled as very important to this one. LeCroy falls behind 0-2 swinging at fastballs, then chases one out of the zone for a three-pitch K. Smith consistently at 94-95 that inning and throws 19 pitches.
Cannarella shoots a two-strike double down the left field line. Tigers couldn't ask for a better start. Taylor fouls out to Casas at first to give the Gameco*cks an easy out. Jones goes ahead 1-2 on Wright, then puches him out on offspeed. Mathes gets hit by a breaking ball to put two on, but Jones goes ahead of Obertop 0-2. Then punches him out on the next pitch, fastball on the corner. A 16-pitch inning. Both pitchers avoid early trouble.No score
CAROLINA
LF Kennedy Jones
CF Dylan Brewer
RF Ethan Petry
C Cole Messina
3B Talmadge LeCroy
1B Gavin Casas
DH Tyler Causey
2B Parker Noland
SS Will Tippett
CLEMSON
CF Cam Cannarella
LF Will Taylor
2B Blake Wright
RF Alden Mathes
C Jimmy Obertop
SS Andrew Ciufo
3B Nolan Nawrocki
1B Jacob Hinderleider
DH JarrenPurify
RHP Eli Jones: 1-0, 1.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 0 BB, 8 K
LHP Tristan Smith: 0-0, 3.12 ERA, 8.2 IP, 4 BB, 11 K
