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CLEMSON -- 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 in 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.
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In the top of the eighth inning, Noah Myers lined a run-scoring double, then the tying run scored on 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. The Tigers used six pitchers. True freshman Billy Barlow got the start, allowing two earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched.
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 ESPN3.com - SEC Network+.
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