Clemson clinches baseball series with 4-1 win against South Carolina – The State

Clemson took the rivalry series against South Carolina with a 4-1 victory Sunday behind a standout performance from a freshman pitcher.

Alex Eubanks, in his first career start, struck out eight in 7 2/3 innings, allowing six hits and one earned run. Clemson clinched the series in front of 6,524, a Doug Kingsmore Stadium record.

The Tigers improved to 8-2 on the season, while USC dropped to 10-2.

USC scattered seven hits. John Jones and Dom Thompson-Williams had two hits apiece.

Clemson’s Chase Pinder and Reed Rohlman had RBI hits in the third. The Tigers followed in the fourth with an Andrew Cox two-RBI single.

The Tigers took the series under first-year coach Monte Lee, who was an assistant coach for the Gamecocks from 2003-08 before becoming the head coach at College of Charleston.

USC took Friday’s game 8-1, with Clemson taking Saturday 5-0 ahead of Sunday’s finale. It makes consecutive regular-season series victories for the Tigers for the first time since the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

Clemson has won three of the seven series since it went to the current three-game format in 2010. The Tigers also have won five of the seven games played in Clemson in that same span.

The Gamecocks return to Founders Park for five games this week, including a weekend series against Charleston Southern.

OBSERVATIONS

No shenanigans: There were no controversial or heated moments this weekend. It was all about the baseball.

It’s a bump in the road: As Chad Holbrook has said, this series won’t dictate how the rest of the season will go. It is at least a temporary morale hit for the players (and the fans). USC now has seven games, six at home, to get things back on track before SEC play begins.

NEXT

What: South Carolina vs. Wofford

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 8

Where: Founders Park, Columbia

Watch: SEC Network Plus (digital)

Radio: 107.5 FM in the Columbia area