CUTigers

OFFICIAL GAME 3 THREAD: #14 CLEMSON at South Carolina

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 08:38:02

First pitch of the rubber match is at noon in Columbia, and I'll have live play-by-play right here! The Tigers beat the Gamecocks 11-5 yesterday in Greenville after losing 5-4 in Clemson on Friday. Both of the Tigers' losses this season are by one run, and they had the tying run on base in the 9th. The Tigers hit 3 more HR's yesterday and now lead the Gamecocks by one for the most HR's (21) in the Power Five, 2nd in the nation. New Mexico State has a ridiculously short fence and will likely be #1 all season. Teo hit his team-leading 4th HR, Davidson and Hall each hit their 3rd. Teo leads the team in HR's, RBI's (12) and average (.350). Holt Jones pitched 4 scoreless innings in relief. The Tigers have won the rubber match in the Palmetto Series the last 4 straight years, 3 straight for Monte.

Freshman Justin Wrobleski will get his 3rd start. I'm not sure I wouldn't start Hennessy instead. He's used to starting in hostile environments, and Wrobleski hasn't been great against lesser competition.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:08:40

Hall leadoff single! He reached base 4 times yesterday, 3 times to lead off the inning, and hit a HR!

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:09:28

Hall steals 2nd! RISP for Davidson, who hit his 3rd HR yesterday.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:10:19

Davidson strikes out looking. RISP with one out for red-hot Byrd.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:10:56

Byrd grounds out, Hall to 3rd. 2 down for Wilkie.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:12:09

WILKIE DELIVERS!!! 2-out double puts the Tigers up 1-0! They scored 5 straight runs with 2 outs yesterday.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:13:49

Sharpe flies out to end the inning.

TIGERS LEAD 1-0 M1.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:20:47

Ugh Wrobleski gives up a leadoff single and an infield single. 1st and 2nd with no outs.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:21:57

Good grief double scores 2 runs to put SCar up 2-1. Like I said, I would have started Hennessy or even Askew today. RISP with no outs.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:23:26

Olson fouls out. RISP with one out.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:24:43

Ugh single through the left side. Corners with one out. Wrobleski may not last very long again.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:27:12

Good grief Wrobleski gives up a 3-run HR. Sometimes I hate being right all the time! Tigers trail 5-1 with one out in the 1st.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:27:36

Lol Askew in from the pen. Like I said....

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:42:07

Askew strikes out his first batter looking. 2 down.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:42:55

Askew gives up a walk and a HBP but gets another K swinging to end the inning.

TIGERS TRAIL 5-1 AFTER ONE.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:43:58

Greene, Green and Teo go 1-2-3. Teo, the Tigers' leading hitter, struck out swinging on 3 pitches.

TIGERS TRAIL 5-1 M2.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:48:11

Askew gets another K swinging on 4 pitches with a nice breaking ball. All 3 of his outs have come by strike out.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:48:40

Askew gives up a one-out single.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:49:09

Good grief runner gets all the way to 3rd on a wild pitch. RISP with one out.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:49:27

Sac fly makes it 6-1 with 2 outs.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:50:28

Grounder ends the inning.

TIGERS TRAIL 6-1 AFTER 2.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 11:59:16

Meredith strikes out swinging to start the 3rd.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:00:07

Hall single! He has reached base both times today and 6 of his last 7 at bats. Davidson up with one out.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:00:33

Ugh Davidson hits a hard line drive right at the center fielder. Hall almost doubled up at 1st. Two down for Byrd.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:00:52

Byrd grounds out to end the inning.

TIGERS TRAIL 6-1 M3.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:03:40

Askew gets a grounder for the first out.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:07:24

One-double gives Scar another RISP.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:07:53

Askew gets another K! His 4th one in less than 3 innings.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:09:35

Askew gets his 5th K to end the inning!

TIGERS TRAIL 6-1 AFTER 3.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:15:08

Wilkie and Sharpe ground out. 2 down for Green.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:16:15

Sharpe is ruled safe at 1st! One out for Green.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:17:33

Ugh Green grounds into a taylor-made 4-6-3 DP to end the inning.

TIGERS TRAIL 6-1 M4.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:21:09

Askew gives up a leadoff single.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:22:05

Scar steals 2nd on a pitch low and outside. No throw from Wilkie. RISP with no outs.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:23:17

Ugh single scores another run. Tigers trail 7-1 with no outs.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:24:25

That's all for Askew. Marr comes in from the pen.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:36:32

Good grief Marr gives up a HR to his first batter, Olson, to make the score 9-1. Second HR of the game for Gamecocks, and they're now ahead of the Tigers for most HR's in the Power Five. 9 unanswered runs for SCAR.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:37:00

Marr gets an out and then hits a batter.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:39:36

Holy cow another HR for Berryhill! His 2nd today, 3rd of the game for the Gamecocks. Berryhill was 0-4 on Friday but has a double and 2 homers since then. 4th HR on season for him, 5th for Hopkins. They now have 23 HR's as a team to lead the Power Five, 2nd in nation.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:40:13

Marr gets a fly and a grounder to finally stop the bleeding.

TIGERS TRAIL 11-1 AFTER 4.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:43:35

Sellout crowd of 8,242 on hand today.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:50:35

Sommerfeld in to start the 5th.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:51:05

Ugh leadoff walk on 4 pitches. Tigers can't find an answer on the mound today.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:51:43

Sommerfeld gets back to back K's and a fly to end the inning!

TIGERS TRAIL 11-1 AFTER 5.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:52:43

Hall grounds out to start the 6th.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 12:55:03

DAVIDSON HR!!! His 4th of season and 2nd in as many days! Unfortunately, it was a solo. Figures Hall wouldn't reach base for the 2nd time in 8 at bats. Davidson and Teo lead the team with 4 HR's. 22nd HR for Tigers. They trail Gamecocks by one for Power Five lead. Tigers trail 11-2.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:00:24

Byrd singles, Wilkie flies out. 2 down for Sharpe.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:00:51

Sharpe reaches on an error. RISP with 2 down for Green.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:01:24

GREEN DELIVERS!!! 2-out single scores Byrd from 2nd! Tigers trail 11-3 with corners and 2 outs for Greene.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:04:58

Ugh Greene hits one deep to left but not enough. That would have made things interesting!

TIGERS TRAIL 11-3 M6.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:05:50

Hackenberg will start the 6th behind the plate for Wilkie. First appearance in the series for the freshman Hack. He has 2 HR's this season.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:10:40

Sommerfeld gives up a one-out single and a walk on full count.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:12:35

Ugh single though the left side loads the bases with one out. Let's see what the grad transfer Sommerfeld is made of. He has 4 K's in 2 innings this season.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:13:26

Ugh another single through the left side scores a run. Tigers trail 12-3 with bases loaded and one out. Monte sticking with Sommerfeld for now.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:15:16

Good grief another run scores on a wild pitch. The freshman Hackenberg should have blocked it. Went off the heel of his glove, right in front of him. Tigers trail 13-3 with 2nd and 3rd one out.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:17:05

Sac fly scores another run. That miss by Hackenberg cost them 2 runs.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:17:46

That's all for Sommerfeld. Huggins in from pen with 2 on and 2 outs.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:25:52

Huggins hits his first batter and then gets a K looking to end the inning.

TIGERS TRAIL 14-3 AFTER 6.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:27:40

Teo reaches on an error and gets to 2nd. RISP with no outs for Fairey, pinch hitting for Meredith.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:28:10

Fairey strikes out swinging. RISP for Hall with one out.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:29:36

Good grief Hall doubles, but bad base running by Teo, and he gets thrown out trying to go back to 3rd. He would have scored easy but had to see if they would catch it at the fence. Probably still should have scored. Nothing going right for Tigers today! RISP with 2 outs for Davidson.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:30:33

New pitcher for Scar.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:34:22

Davidson strikes out swinging to end the inning.

TIGERS TRAIL 14-3 AT THE STRETCH.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:39:49

Huggins gives up a leadoff single to Hopkins, who has been on fire. He is batting .450 with 3 HR's in the series.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:44:14

Huggins gets a pop up and a K but gives up a 2-out double to Berryhill. 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. Berryhill had a double yesterday and has a double and 2 HR's today.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:45:04

Shot to deep left stays in the park to end the inning.

TIGERS TRAIL 14-3 AFTER 7.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:45:32

Nice play by 2nd base on a hard hit grounder by Byrd.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:46:25

Hackenberg swings at the first pitch and fouls out on his first plate appearance in the Palmetto Series. 2 down for Hawkins, pinch hitting for Sharpe.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:46:55

Hawkins lines out to end the inning.

TIGERS TRAIL 14-3 M8.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 13:49:26

Reed in to pitch the 8th.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 14:43:43

Reed strikes out the first batter looking and gives up a 2-out single but nothing else.

TIGERS TRAIL 14-3 HEADED TO THE 9TH.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 14:44:14

Parker pinches for Green and grounds out.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 14:44:48

Justin Hawkins pinches for Greene and strikes out looking.

CUTrevor 2019-03-03 14:49:52

Majkowski pinches for Teo and flies out. Tigers go down 1-2-3 to end the game.

TIGERS LOSE 14-3.

First Palmetto Series loss for Monte and the first win for the Gamecocks in 5 years. Davidson hit his 2nd HR in as many days, 4th of the season to tie Teo for the team lead, but not much else went right for the Tigers today. I wrote before the game that I didn't feel good about freshman Justin Wrobleski starting in this environment, and I was right. I thought Hennessy or even Freshman Keyshawn Askew should have started. Askew has looked better than Wrobleski so far, but Monte wanted to give Wrobleski another chance to see what he could do. Monte told me after the game that he didn't have any second thoughts about it, but I think you can expect to see a different Sunday starter next week and maybe even a different Friday starter after the way Crawford has looked in the first 3 starts.

Hall was the series MVP for the Tigers. He was 3-4 today and 5-10 in the series with a HR, 3 walks and 3 steals. I'll have post-game interviews posted shortly!