Wharton's walk-off gives No. 7 Clemson its fourth straight series win over South Carolina
CLEMSON -- In the middle of the second inning of game three of the Reedy River Rivalry, a video started playing on the jumbotron in centerfield at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Clemson players began to appear one by one, answering who their favorite baseball player is. Names like Chipper Jones and Ken Griffey Jr. were mentioned, but senior Drew Wharton’s answer was different.
“Patrick Cromwell!” the left-fielder said in almost a joking manner.
Fans around the stadium laughed at another example of how much fun these two players have with each other, but after Wharton won the series for Clemson with a walk-off triple off the right-field wall, Cromwell’s answer changed.
“Yeah, I can say that,” Cromwell said laughing with his teammates after the 8-7 victory when he was asked if Wharton is his new favorite player. “I think for the whole team, Drew is their favorite player. I’d say for all Clemson fans Drew Wharton is their favorite baseball player right now.”
And for a good reason. South Carolina was down 7-4 heading into the eighth inning before a furious rally ensued. The Gamecocks scored one run in the eighth, but in the top of the ninth, L.T. Tolbert hit an RBI double off closer Riley Gilliam to set up a sacrifice fly which tied the game at 7-7.
The Gamecocks were down 6-0 early after Clemson’s bats came out firing at home. Once the game was tied, South Carolina had all the momentum while Clemson’s crowd of 6,000 plus was in stunned silence.
But Clemson had been in this situation before, two other times this season at home to be exact. Even after the gut punch the Gamecocks threw at the Tigers, the message to Monte Lee’s team was the same as it always is.
“You’ve got to find ways to win games in different ways. There’s going to be days where pitching and defense wins the game for you where the offense can’t get it going. There’s days where we’ve got to score and today was one of those days,” Lee said.
“we’re just finding ways to win in different ways which is a great sign for our club.”
Robert Jolly drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth and had to hustle around the bases once Wharton’s fly ball bounced off the right-field wall. Jacob Olsen tried to make a play for the Gamecocks out of right field, but the ball got past him twice, and Lee knew once that happened, Jolly was going to score.
There was a play at home plate, but Jolly slid in just in time giving the Tigers their fourth straight series win over South Carolina. Cromwell rushed Wharton, ripping his jersey from his body in celebration.
“It’s unreal. I’ll take a walk-off for a ripped jersey any day,” Wharton said.
The Tigers have now won eight of their last 12 against the Gamecocks in the series and are 5-1 in one-run games so far in 2018. They have only played 11 games.
“I’m proud to be a part of a program that’s been able to do it for four consecutive years,” Lee said. “It’s been four years in a row that we’ve won this series, and it’s because of the competitive nature of our teams, playing team-oriented baseball.”
There was a debate on who should win the Bob Bradley Award, the award presented to Clemson’s Most Valuable Player for the series, amongst media members as the game drew closer to an end.
The winner was Logan Davidson. The sophomore third baseman had a sensational series for the Tigers. He went 3-for-6, including a home run that gave Clemson a 7-4 lead, hit two RBIs, scored five runs, was walked eight times, and had an .800 on-base percentage.
“He just has team at-bats... He won the MVP for this series for a reason because he continues to fight to get on base to give us a chance to score runs,” Lee said.
The other name mentioned was Patrick Cromwell, who has risen as a leader on Clemson’s team as a senior. He hit 3-for-5 with three RBIs on Sunday, including a home run in the first inning that started things off for Clemson. His two-strike, two-out hit in the bottom of the fourth scored two runs and gave the Tigers a commanding 6-0 lead.
Cromwell is a player who plays with a chip on his shoulder after being taken out of the lineup last season and has found his groove to begin 2018. He’s batting .351 on the season, just behind Chris Williams who leads the team batting .357.
“That’s the difference in our lineup right now is having that guy hit between Seth and Chris. It gives us so many good at-bats,” Lee said.
It was only fitting the best rivalry in college baseball ended in walk-off fashion, especially after the Tigers lost on Friday night due to a walk-off and responded with one of their own in front of their home crowd.
Lee was complimentary of South Carolina’s comeback efforts after winning the in-state rivalry for the third year in a row since he took over as head coach. The story of this team continues to be how no matter what happens to them in the game, they don’t get too rattled and will always have a fighting chance at the end of the day.
The Tigers are loose, composed, and have a ton of fun with each other. That’s been their recipe for success so far.
Take it from the head coach himself:
“How about our guys? We just seem to find a way.”