Annually, South Carolina practically shuts down for one of the biggest rivalries in college baseball. 

The Palmetto Series kicked off in the first weekend of March featuring the South Carolina Gamecocks and their in-state rival, the Clemson Tigers. The boys in garnet and black faced the team in orange and purple in a shortened two-game series for state bragging rights. 

The original three-game series was going to be split between three locations. The first game on Friday, March 1 was set to play at Founders Park, home of the Gamecocks. The March 2 game was at Segra Park, home of the Single-A Columbia Fireflies baseball team. Finally, the March 3 game was held at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson.  

Game one of the series was rained out and postponed for a later date, which has not been announced yet. The final two games at Segra Park and Doug Kingsmore featured some exciting and intense baseball. 

Tigers take delayed game one 

On a cloudy Saturday afternoon that fortunately turned sunny, spectators at Segra saw a very close game between the two teams, resulting in a 5-4 Clemson win in extra innings. 

The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth after Cam Cannarella hit a two-run RBI double to score Jarren Purify and Andrew Ciufo.  

Will Tippett of South Carolina cut the Tigers' lead in half in the next half inning in the top of the fifth after hitting a solo home run to left field off of Tigers pitcher Tristan Smith. Tippett also went 2 for 5 on the day with his lone RBI being the solo shot. 

The score stayed at 2-1 for a couple of innings before Tigers' first baseman Jacob Hinderleider extended the lead to 4-1 after hitting a two-run home run off of Gamecocks' pitcher and Chapin alum Matthew Becker in the bottom of the eighth.  

Home runs seemed to run the roost as the game plucked along with the Tigers taking a huge three-run lead late in the match. 

The Gamecocks, however, were in the top of the ninth and stormed back to tie the game after left fielder Blake Jackson came into the game and got a pinch-hit triple to score Tippett. That was followed by another homerun, this time from right fielder Ethan Petry whose lone hit was a two-run shot to tie it 4-4.  

Tigers pitcher Lucas Mahlstedt got credited for giving up the two-run home run that forced extra innings at Segra. 

Ciufo hit the walk-off home run to left center to give Clemson the 5-4 win in extra innings. 

Outside of all the home runs, the pitching staff for both teams had decent games on the bump. Gamecocks starter Eli Jones went 4 1/3 innings pitched, giving up two runs and striking out four batters. Tigers starter Tristian Smith was on a mission as he pitched five solid innings, only giving up one run and striking out nine Gamecocks.  

Another pitcher who had a great game despite getting slotted with the loss was Gamecock Garrett Gainey. Grainey pitched 3 2/3 innings, striking out six, but unfortunately allowed the game-winning run.  

"We played great. We're a good team. We played really well tonight. Again, we're one swing short, one run short. It's the way the game works," Gamecock head coach Mark Kingston said.  

There was a sense that it was a game where both teams struck out a lot due to great pitching. Furthermore, both teams hit a plethora of home runs during the game. It was Clemson striking first in extra innings to take the first game of the now two-game set.  

Tigers Complete the Two-Game Sweep 

Just like the previous day, Sunday's game in Clemson was another one that came down to the wire.  

This time, the Gamecocks jumped out to the lead early. Catcher Cole Messina hit a two-run home run in the top of the first off of starter Aidan Knaak to give South Carolina a 2-0 lead. Knaak gave up three runs over his five innings on the mound for Clemson. 

The Tigers responded immediately in the bottom half of the first when left fielder Will Taylor hit a solo home run to left field. Taylor's home run off of Dylan Eskew cut South Carolina's lead in half. Eskew over his 3 2/3 innings on the mound gave up three runs (only one earned) and struck out four. 

South Carolina would extend their lead back to two runs after Dylan Brewer hit an RBI single in the top of the third inning to score Will Tippett. These ended up being the last runs Knaak gave up as he continued to pitch his five innings, striking out five over that span. After the Brewer RBI, it was all Tigers. 

Clemson scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth when Jimmy Obertop grounded out, but Taylor scored on an error. That was followed up by Andrew Ciufo who hit an RBI single to score Blake Wright which tied the game up 3-3.  

Clemson took and extended the lead in the bottom of the sixth and eighth innings as Nolan Nawrocki hit a solo home run to left field. Wright hit a solo home run in the eighth this time to center field, making it a 5-3 Clemson.  

Gamecocks pitcher Roman Kimball was saddled with the loss despite going 3 1/3 innings on the mound, striking out five Clemson batters. The two home runs are what gave him the blemish on what was a solid day for him. 

Despite the two solo home runs by Clemson, South Carolina made it interesting in the top of the ninth when Ethan Petry hit a solo home run off of closer Austin Gordon to make it a 5-4 game.  

Ultimately, Gordon got the save for Clemson, and the Tigers ended up winning both games over the weekend with back to back 5-4 victories. 

“Identical games two days in a row,” Kingston said. “They were one swing better for the second day in a row. We got to tip our cap and get back to work and learn lessons from this weekend." 

What’s next for South Carolina 

The Gamecocks fall to 8-3 on the season with a two-game losing streak after dropping the set versus Clemson.  

The team now turns its sights to this week where it is scheduled to play five games. The first was set for Tuesday versus The Citadel, followed up by a game on Wednesday versus Davidson. The Gamecocks will end the week with a three-game weekend series versus the Longwood Lancers. All five games this week will be at home at Founders Park for South Carolina.