No. 7 Clemson Downs South Carolina 5-1

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Ethan Darden pitched 7.0 scoreless innings of three-hit ball to lead No. 7 Clemson to a 5-1 victory over South Carolina at Fluor Field on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers, who took a 2-0 lead in the series and won their seventh game in a row, improved to 9-1, while the Gamecocks dropped to 9-2.

Darden (2-0) earned the win in the best outing of his career, as he allowed just two walks with six strikeouts in only 89 pitches. Darden also retired 13 batters in a row at one point. Drew Titsworth pitched 2.0 innings to record his second save of the year. Gamecock starter Jake McCoy (1-1) suffered the loss, as he gave up three hits, two runs and two walks with a career-high 12 strikeouts in 6.0 innings pitched.

After five scoreless innings to start the game, Cam Cannarella ripped a run-scoring double in the sixth inning to score Dominic Listi, who earlier extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Luke Gaffney then hit a chopper in front of the plate and was retired at first base and Cannarella scored from second base on the play.

Ethan Petry cut Clemson’s lead in half in the eighth inning with a solo homer. In the ninth inning, Jacob Jarrell lofted a run-scoring single, then Tristan Bissetta hit a sacrifice fly. Jarren Purify followed with a run-scoring double.

The series concludes Sunday at Founders Park in Columbia, S.C. at 5 p.m. on SEC Network Extra.