Gunther, Gamecocks surprise No. 15 Clemson with shutout win. What we learned

Since coach Paul Mainieri took over the South Carolina baseball program last season, the diamond edition of the Carolina-Clemson rivalry has been all Tigers.

Clemson swept USC last year and outscored the Gamecocks 18-6 over the three-game weekend series. This season, with the Tigers undefeated and the Gamecocks already wobbling with three non-conference losses , you’d have been hard-pressed to find anyone who thought this year’s Palmetto Series would look any different.

But on Friday at Founders Park, in the opening game of this year’s showdown between USC and Clemson, the magic of a heated rivalry stood victorious over logic and reason.

USC took down No. 15 Clemson 7-0 and grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 2026 Palmetto Series. It marked the first win in the series for Mainieri and South Carolina’s first shutout of the Tigers since 2017.

“I’m not going to play this one down. That was a special win tonight, it really was,” Mainieri said. “But it’s one game. ... We haven’t won the series. All we did today was avoid getting swept.”

Here are three key takeaways from the win:

Josh Gunther outlasts Clemson ace Aidan Knaak

Friday night’s starters couldn’t have been more different.

For the Tigers (8-1), there was no choice but Aidan Knaak. Clemson’s ace entered the game with 33 career starts under his belt and zero runs allowed so far in 2026, helping lead the Tigers to the nation’s best 1.35 ERA.

The Gamecocks (7-3) gave the ball to Wake Forest transfer Josh Gunther. Not only had the junior never started for USC — he’d never made a start at all in his three-year college career. He also had a 7.88 ERA this season thanks to a blow-up outing in a 9-5 loss to Army.

But against all indications, Gunther was the one who brought his ace stuff to Founders Park on Friday.

“When you pitch great, you’ve got a chance to win, and our pitching was unbelievable tonight,” Mainieri said.

Gunther pitched seven shutout innings against the Tigers, tossing a career-high 10 strikeouts and walking just one batter. He allowed only one extra-base hit and left five Clemson runners stranded on base.

“I’ll be honest, I was one hundred percent nervous. It was my first college start. Being at Carolina, I know how much this series means to the fans,” Gunther said. “This whole week, I was really trying to focus on my mental game. I had to dull my senses. I know I went out there and played with a lot of energy.”

Meanwhile, Knaak made it through five innings, allowing three hits and four runs, all in the third inning. He allowed one runner to score on a wild pitch. His three walks allowed were the most in a game this season.

“This is one of those ones you just flush and put in the rearview mirror as quick as you can,” Clemson coach Erik Bakich said. “I think the storyline was their pitching, specifically the start they got from Gunther.”

USC closer and Texas State transfer Alex Valentin completed the shutout with two scoreless innings.

Multi-run innings put USC in front

Baseball is meant for nine innings. The Gamecocks only needed two to collect a sizable lead on Friday.

The initial offense came in the third inning, where USC scored four runs on three hits. Knaak allowed one of the runners to score on a wild pitch. KJ Scobey hit an RBI double to make it 4-0 before Talmadge LeCroy was thrown out at third on the play to end the inning.

“We didn’t hit a lot, four hits, but they all were big hits,” Mainieri said.

The Gamecocks added two more runs in the sixth with an RBI double and a wild pitch. USC tacked on its seventh and final run in the seventh inning on a Clemson throwing error.

Tigers struggle when it counts

When you step back and look at the numbers, neither team hit the ball particularly well on Friday. The two sides combined for seven hits in 59 at-bats. The difference came from Clemson’s inability to capitalize on the few opportunities it had.

“We’ll just keep it about our mistakes, and we’ll take those and correct those. ... We’ll be ready to play tomorrow,” Bakich said. “It’s only inevitable that you’re gonna be on the wrong side of some games, but it’s always how you play. In a big game, in a rivalry game like this, we have such a target on this game. So to play so poorly on the opening night of the game is disappointing, for sure.”

The Tigers went 1-for-12 with runners on base and 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. They also went 1-for-9 with two outs. The Gamecocks weren’t much better, but they outperformed or matched Clemson’s performance in all three stats and drew three more walks in the game.

South Carolina vs. Clemson schedule, results

• Game 1 (Friday): USC 7, Clemson 0
• Game 2 (Saturday): South Carolina vs. Clemson (Segra Park), 3 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
• Game 3 (Sunday): South Carolina at Clemson, 3 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)

This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 11:20 PM with the headline "Gunther, Gamecocks surprise No. 15 Clemson with shutout win. What we learned."