Clemson clinches series over Musketeers |
CLEMSON - The No. 9-ranked Clemson Tigers erupted in the bottom of the fourth to beat the Musketeers 8-3 on Saturday. The Tigers recorded a total of ten hits, including two home runs.
A change of pace from the first game of the series, the first inning ended without any score, but Xavier took an early lead in the second with a solo home run by junior infielder Luke Hammond. That score did not change until the bottom of the fourth inning. Clemson’s rally started with graduate infielder Jacob Hinderleider’s first hit as a Tiger, which sent him to first and redshirt freshman Cooper Blauser to second. Redshirt freshman Nolan Nawrocki was next up to bat and he recorded an RBI double, as he sent Blauser home to tie the game 1-1. Sophomore Cam Cannarella added to the lead with a double of his own, sending Hinderleider and Nawrocki home and giving the Tigers their first lead of the game at 3-1. They would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game and, in fact, added to their lead before the end of the inning despite Xavier’s pitching change. Junior outfielder Will Taylor reached first on a throwing error, allowing Cannarella to get home on an unearned run. That extended Clemson’s lead to 4-1. Xavier responded in the top of the fifth with Hammond’s second solo home run of the game to put the game at 4-2. The Tigers answered back quickly. Hinderleider, with the bases loaded, notched his second hit of the game to extend Clemson’s lead to 6-2. Clemson grew its lead even more in the sixth with a solo home run by senior infielder Blake Wright and graduate Andrew Ciufo. For both Wright and Ciufo, it was his first home runs of the season. For Ciufo, who is playing his first season with Clemson after transferring from Georgetown, it was also his first home run as a Clemson Tiger. This gave the Tigers an 8-2 lead at the end of the sixth inning. The Musketeers didn’t back down, however, with junior outfielder Aedan Anderson recording Xavier’s third solo home run of the game to cut the Tigers’ lead down to 8-3. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Tristan Smith started the game for Clemson. He pitched four innings, only surrendering one hit and getting five strikeouts. He was followed by graduate righty Nick Clayton. Clayton played three innings, giving up only two hits, and he also had five strikeouts. Despite scoring eight runs, Clemson did miss some opportunities, particularly in the first three innings, where the bases were loaded twice, and the Tigers failed to score a single run. That occurred again in the bottom of the eighth inning. In total, they left eleven runners on base. They also were struck out a total of 10 times. The series concludes on Sunday (1 p.m./ACCNX) with a battle of right-handed pitchers as freshman Aidan Knaak is set to start for Clemson while Xavier will have senior Nick Boyle starting. 2-RUN DOUBLE 💪@JHinderleider7's second hit of the day doubles the lead! 🐾 TIGERS LEAD! 👏👏@CamCannarella extends his hitting streak to 11 with a 2-run single! SEE YA LATER 👋@BlakeWr86324186 mashes his 1st homer of the year! GOODBYE, HOME RUN! 💣@AndrewCiufo belts his first bomb as a Tiger!
B5 || XAV 2, CU 6
🖥️ https://t.co/Y0nu3rmQ5F pic.twitter.com/LktIHITqWq
B4 || XAV 1, CU 3
🖥️ https://t.co/Y0nu3rmQ5F pic.twitter.com/d06PgltxSJ
🚀 377 ft
💨 105 mph
B6 || XAV 2, CU 7
🖥️ https://t.co/Y0nu3rmQ5F pic.twitter.com/tPZ0CguwCw
🚀 339 ft
💨 94 mph
B6 || XAV 2, CU 8
🖥️ https://t.co/Y0nu3rmQ5F pic.twitter.com/yknvD3tifv
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