Tigers score early and in bunches, defeat Aggies |
David Hood
· · Saturday, February 22 2025
CLEMSON – The Tigers continued to score runs early and in bunches, tallying eight over the first three innings and three in the eighth, and No. 8 Clemson defeated North Carolina A&T 12-7 Saturday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium as part of the Clemson Baseball Invitational.
Tryston McCladdie notched three hits and three stolen bases and Luke Gaffney had three hits and the Tigers’ first homer of the season as part of a 16-hit attack in which every starter collected at least one hit. Clemson improves to 4-1 on the season, while the Aggies fall to 2-1. Nathan Dvorsky picked up the win in relief to go to 2-0, while the Aggies’ Angel Ortiz takes the loss and falls to 0-1. Lucas Mahlstedt picked up the save, allowing no runs over the final 2 1/3 innings. The Tigers close out the weekend with the second part of Saturday’s twin bill against VCU (4 p.m. scheduled start) and take on the Aggies again on Sunday at 2 pm. The Tigers jumped on Ortiz, the Aggie starter, in the bottom of the first. Dominic Listi got it started with a leadoff single to right and moved to second when Josh Paino was hit on the elbow. Cam Cannarella lined a single to center to score Listi for the 1-0 lead, and two outs later and the bases loaded, Bissetta smoked a single to center to score two runs for a quick 3-0 lead. Clemson's pitching unraveled in the fourth, with four walks, a homer and a hit batter chasing starter Jacob McGovern. The Aggies scored six runs – five on McGovern and one on reliever Nathan Dvorsky – to take a 6-3 lead. The Tigers responded in a big way in the bottom of the frame. Cannarella, Gaffney and Collin Priest started the inning with singles – the last one scoring Cannarella – and a sacrifice fly by Jack Crighton tacked on another run. Bissetta walked and it looked like Andrew Ciufo was hit on the elbow to load the bases with one out. After a review, however, the umpires ruled that Ciufo stuck his arm into the strike zone and called him out for the second out. McCladdie reached on an infield single to load the bases and a pitch hit Listi to push in another run and make it 6-6. Paino’s infield single scored another run and the final run of the inning scored on a passed ball, with McCladdie scoring the run for an 8-6 lead. The Aggies added another run – this one on an RBI double – in the fifth to close to within one at 8-7, but the Tigers got that run back in the bottom of the inning. Ciufo singled to left-center on a 2-0 count and moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt. McCladdie’s liner to center scored Ciufo for a 9-7 lead. The Tigers loaded the bases with one out but failed to score again and led 9-7 through five innings. Gaffney lined a solo homer over the wall in left to start the bottom of the eighth to account for the final score. It was Clemson’s first long ball of the young season. The Tigers added two more runs – one on a heads-up baserunning play by Crighton. With the bases loaded, McCladdie hit a sacrifice fly to deep center and all of the runners attempted to advance. On the play at second, the second baseman fell to the ground after the tag and Crighton, who was roaming off third, dashed home ahead of the throw for the final run. First HR as a Tiger for @TheLukeGaffney! .@Lucas_Mahlstedt strikes out the side in the 9th to earn the Tigers' fourth win of the season! Backwards K and a scoreless 4th from @nathandvorsky2! RBI single from @CamCannarella puts the Tigers on the board! #Clemson totaled 16 hits in its 12-7 win over the Aggies on Saturday.
🚀 380 ft
🌬️ 110 mph
B8 || A&T 7, CU 10
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M4 || A&T 6, CU 8
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B1 || A&T 0, CU 1
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🎥 North Carolina A&T vs. Clemson Highlights ➡️ 2/22/25 pic.twitter.com/pPjZglXEzG
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