CLEMSON — A crowd of 6,891 people fell silent and felt their hearts drop Friday night as South Carolina player Max Kaufer launched a ball deep into right field in the ninth inning.

If the ball left Doug Kingsmore Stadium for a home run, the Gamecocks would eradicate No. 13 Clemson’s two-run lead with only one out, putting pressure on Clemson’s offense to score winning runs to walk off the game.

Instead, the Clemson crowd cheered and took a collective sigh of relief as the ball sailed right into outfielder Dominic Listi’s glove, marking the second out for the Gamecocks. With one more fly ball two batters later, Clemson (8-1) had officially taken the first game with a 5-3 win in the annual rivalry series.

The victory came largely from reliever Lucas Mahlstedt’s three-inning stand, in which he racked up four strikeouts with no runs, hits, or walks. As the acting pitcher when South Carolina was inches away from tying the game, the right-hander was the first to breathe a sigh of relief when Listi came up with the catch against the wall.

When asked about the moment after the game, the senior simply shrugged and said, “That’s baseball.”

He was also quick to point out that baseball is full of plays decided by inches, or “this much,” he said while pinching his fingers together. 

Another play decided by inches came in the eighth inning when Clemson first baseman Luke Gaffney dove on the ground to make a catch while putting his foot back on the base just in time to beat South Carolina’s Talmedge Lecroy and get the first out of the inning.

“That’s the difference,” Mahlstedt said. “Gaffney holding his foot on the bag there, that’s the difference. Between both of those balls (in the ninth) almost going out, it was a tough moment, but that’s the difference in the game.” 

So far this season, Mahlstedt, a former hurler at Wofford College, has been a difference-maker for the Tigers. In three appearances in the young season, he has recorded three saves and given up no runs or walks on only two hits. 

In seven innings pitched, the Ormond Beach, Fla., native has found himself as one of Clemson’s most reliable closers on the team. Head coach Erik Bakich is not surprised by his veteran’s performance. 

“Lucas getting nine outs, that’s tough to do,” Bakich said. “And to do it the way he did it and pitch the way he’s done before, it’s super valuable to have a guy like Lucas that can be extended and save a game and go length for us. That’s big time.” 

In the Tigers’ first nine games, several other bullpen pitchers have also shown up to have big moments for Clemson. Graduate senior Reed Garris has joined Mahlstedt in having a 0.0 earned run average thus far, amassing six strikeouts over five scoreless innings in two appearances.

On Friday, Feb. 21, against VCU, sophomore Drew Titsworth also pitched five scoreless innings to secure the Tigers’ first win of the Clemson Invitational Tournament, while junior pitcher Nathan Dvorsky added two scoreless innings at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown and earned the win over then-17th-ranked Oklahoma State.

For Mahlstedt, strength is found in numbers in the Tigers’ pitching staff, and the best success is yet to come.

“Looking at our bullpen, we’ve got so many different guys who can who can do you know that role,” he said. “We’ve got Drew, Reed, Igor (Dvorsky), and just a bunch of different guys who can kind of fill that spot. And for myself, going into that is just the first step. Now I’m going to pass the  baton, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Clemson will definitely need all of the bullpen strength possible to finish the South Carolina series strong and continue the momentum of winning their last six games. The Tigers have a chance to extend the win streak to seven Saturday, when they take on the Gamecocks (9-1) at neutral site Fluor Field. 

First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m.