GREENVILLE – Clemson’s central gardener Bryce Teodosio extended the glove, left his feet, and for a moment, Fluor Field held its collective breath.
Clemson and South Carolina had not played any major sports for almost a year because of COVID-19, and the first game, a neutral baseball game on February 27, was for extra tickets.
The ball ended when the ball hit Teodosio’s glove and settled into the open field, while Gamecocks’ right defender Brady Allen ran home for the winning race. The Gamecocks attacked left fielder Andrew Eyster, whose 11th inning sealed the 3-2 win for South Carolina.
“The ball keeps going up,” said Eyster. “I saw him dive and it was only in slow motion. I saw the tip of the glove fall and knew that we won.”
The result was cathartic for the South Carolina fans present – and devastating for Tiger fans. Rival fans have segregated themselves into party sections within Fluor Field, playing with the emotions of others as the roller coaster game progressed.
The series was supposed to start the previous afternoon at Clemson’s Doug Kingsmore Stadium, but a postponement of rain postponed the game to May 11.
South Carolina’s right-hander Thomas Farr started the game, and his first inning, during which he retired the team in order, set the tone for his night. Farr’s lone blip over six innings came into the room when Clemson’s shortstop James Parker scored in a run.
Farr shot better than his counterpart, the right-handed Davis Sharpe of the Tigers. Sharpe hit 10 strokes in four starts – but also gave up seven strokes and a walk, with the first two Gamecocks races coming in a pair of singles in the first and fourth.
When Parker entered the scout area to lead ninth place, the Tigers had not registered a hit in 11 appearances on the board and were losing 2-1.
Then, the shortstop, whose single on February 21 took Clemson over Cincinnati, released a 0-2 offer on the mini-Green Monster in the left field. The Greenville sky was dark blue, caught between late afternoon and early evening. His outburst and subsequent ninth goalless turn by left-handed Geoffrey Gilbert ensured that the game would go on for extra turns.
“Many teams can fall apart if you give up on a heartbreaker like this,” said Gamecocks coach Mark Kingston. “But they kept coming.”
Gilbert, a sophomore from Charleston, also resisted the Gamecocks on the 10th. But he ran out of energy on the 11th, and Eyster helped South Carolina take the first hit at the 2021 edition of one of the fiercest rivalries in the college baseball.
Clemson’s coach Monte Lee was pleased with the performance of his pitchers, he said, but noted that Tigers need to show improvement in attack. Parker had three of Clemson’s seven results and both RBIs.
“They invented big hits when they needed them,” said Lee. “Unfortunately for us, it was not possible.”
Looking forward
The series will continue on February 28 in Columbia, when Clemson’s right-hand man Ty Olenchuk will face South Carolina’s right-hand man Brannon Jordan.
Follow Joshua Needelman on Twitter at @joshneedelman.