CLEMSON — Judging by his performance on Saturday night, Jordan Finster was tired of sitting around waiting for the Dixie Youth State Tournament to get under way.

In leading the Clemson-Central All Stars to an 11-0 victory over Conway in its opening game of the tournament, Finster broke a tournament record with 9 RBI, and tied the home run record with three in an impressive showing for the host squad at Nettles Park in Clemson.

Finster also got it done on the mound, relieving starting pitcher Christian Groomes in the third inning, not allowing a hit and striking out a pair of Conway batters.

Neil Monaghan also got in some time on the mound for Clemson-Central, helping the team allow just three runners to reach base, while scattering two hits across five innings.

But it was Finster who truly stood out on the opening night of the tournament, in a game which he said is more than likely the top game of his young career.

"We were loving it," he said. "We have waited six weeks to get out here, and the whole team was hyped up for the game. I don't think I've ever seen this team so pumped up."

Following a two-run round tripper by Monaghan to open the scoring in the first, Finster connected on a shot over the fence in center field to put Clemson-Central ahead 4-0.

Finster went on to record all of his team's four runs in the third, smacking a grand slam out of the park to score Robert Kosch, Groomes and Spencer Arndt.

If that wasn't enough, Finster went on to invoke the 10-run mercy rule on Conway in the bottom of the fifth with a three run blast for an 11-0 lead in a game where he couldn't explain the power he displayed.

"I don't know," he said. "I was just getting a hold of I guess, and I was keeping my swing."

Central-Clemson head coach Rion Groomes went on to say his starting first baseman was caught slightly off guard by his powerful performance, as it was a pleasant surprise all around.

"He's been hitting a lot of line drives, and not necessarily hitting deep fly balls and has been hitting it real hard," Groomes said. "Tonight, he popped the ball solid three times, and that was nice."

Groomes also went on to say that the pitching staff had a lot to do with the success on Saturday night, as Conway struggled to even get the ball out of the infield.

"Our pitchers threw strikes. That was the real key, because when your pitchers throw strikes, you can keep them off balance," he said. "That's what set us up for getting a little bit of momentum."

Clemson-Central doesn't have much time to relish in its shutout victory, as it will be back in action this evening when it takes on Gilbert at 5:30 p.m., who defeated Bamberg by a final score of 18-2 on Saturday.

Still, Saturday's tournament opener will be one Finster, as well as the team, should remember for a while.

"This game's over, and we told the kids we have to put it behind us and start focusing on the next one," Groomes said. "We can enjoy it for an ice cream sundae, then we have to get back to work."

Please see the photo galleries from the Opening Ceremonies at gotcha photo galleries on our home page www.upstatetoday.com

Central-Clemson 11, Conway 0 (five innings)

Con 000 00x x — 0 2 0

C-C 404 03x x — 11 9 0

Pitching

IP H R BB K

W — Groomes 2 1 0 0 1

L — Rabon 2 6 4 0 3

Hitting

Con — McCord, 1-2; Hall, 1-2.

C-C — Finster, 3-3, 3 HR, 9 RBI; Monaghan 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI; Groomes, 1-2, 2B, BB.