South Carolina baseball plays long ball again in series-clinching win vs. Clemson
South Carolina rocked Clemson pitching for three home runs Sunday en route to a series-clinching 7-1 victory against the Tigers at Columbia’s Founders Park.
The 23rd-ranked Gamecocks (11-1), who entered the weekend series as the national leader in home runs, put their long-ball prowess on display for a second consecutive day. Clemson pitchers held the Gamecocks without a home run through the first 15 innings of the series, but South Carolina blasted two homers in the seventh and eighth innings of Saturday’s game en route to an 11-9 victory, then added three more homers on Sunday, including two by Gavin Casas. Talmadge LeCroy followed Casas’ second homer with a home run of his own.
South Carolina, which has 32 home runs as a team this season, has hit back-to-back homers on four occasions this season.
Clemson (5-6), which won Friday’s series opener 5-2, has gone 1-6 following a 4-0 start to the season and was forced to use a total of 11 pitchers on Saturday and Sunday.
Here are three takeaways from the series:
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Cannarella, LeCroy have big series
Clemson freshman outfielder Cam Cannarella and South Carolina sophomore catcher Talmadge LeCroy were named MVPs of the series. Cannarella won the Bob Bradley Award after going 6-for-13 with three doubles, two RBIs and a steal in the three-game set against the Gamecocks. He has hit safely in all 11 of Clemson’s games this season.
LeCroy, a Belton-Honea Path product and a nephew of former Clemson big leaguer Matthew LeCroy, won the Tom Price Award by hitting .500 (5 for 10) in the series with a home run and six RBIs.
Tigers handcuffed at the plate
Clemson couldn’t buy a strategic hit over the last two games of the series. The Tigers were 5-of-25 (.200) with runners in scoring position, including just 1-of-12 on Sunday. Clemson batters hit .250 combined on Saturday and Sunday and struck out 20 times – 10 times each day – and left 17 runners on base.
“They completely shut us down offensively,” Clemson coach Erik Bakich said. “Not much to say other than they straight up beat us.”
What lies ahead for Tigers, Gamecocks
Clemson has six games to reverse its fortunes prior to opening ACC play at home against Duke (8-3) on March 17. The Tigers should be able to gain some positive traction over the next couple of weeks as they play host to East Tennessee State (6-5), Presbyterian (6-5) and College of Charleston (7-3) for single games and entertain Georgia State (8-4) for a three-game series.
South Carolina will host The Citadel (7-4), Presbyterian (6-5) and Bethune-Cookman (8-4) for a weekend series and play at USC Upstate (7-5) before opening SEC play at Georgia (8-3) on March 17.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson baseball victimized by three South Carolina home runs in loss
