Tigers Power Past Spartans 8-5

CLEMSON, S.C. - Jonathan French led off the eighth inning with a home run to give Clemson the lead for good in its 8-5 victory over USC Upstate at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. The Tigers, who took a 1-0 lead in the season series, improved to 8-0, while the Spartans, who saw their six-game winning streak end, fell to 6-2. The two teams conclude their season series on April 12 at Greenville, S.C.

The Tigers scored four runs in the first inning, highlighted by Cooper Ingle’s run-scoring single and Bryar Hawkins’ three-run homer, his third of the season. In the second inning, Caden Grice ripped a two-out, run-scoring single to extend Clemson’s scoring streak to 10 innings in a row over two games and to build a 5-0 lead.

Devin Buckner lined a two-out, two-run single in the fifth inning to put the Spartans on the scoreboard, then they scored another two-out run in the sixth inning on a bases-loaded walk. In the top of the eighth inning, Noah Myers lined a run-scoring double, then the tying run scored on Devin Buckner’s groundout. But French led off the bottom of the eighth inning by blasting a 2-0 pitch over the fence in left field for his first long ball of the season. Two batters later, Dylan Brewer crushed a 435-foot, two-run homer, his first of the season.

Alex Edmondson (1-0) earned his first career win, while Ryan Ammons pitched the ninth inning to record his second save of the year. Kevin Davis (1-2) suffered the loss.

The Tigers face South Carolina in a three-game series at three different sites, beginning Friday at Founders Park in Columbia at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+.