CLEMSON BASEBALL

Baker's Slam Lifts CU to 14-4 Win Over Richmond
Starting pitcher Kevin Lynn pitched five and one-third strong innings to pick up the win.

Baker's Slam Lifts CU to 14-4 Win Over Richmond


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CLEMSON - The fifth-ranked baseball team avenged its season opening

loss to Richmond with a 14-4 win on Saturday in front of 2,374 fans

at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Shortstop Jeff Baker and first baseman Jarrod Schmidt hit

back-to-back home runs in the first inning and Baker added a grand

slam in the second to led the offensive assault.

Starting pitcher Kevin Lynn pitched five and one-third strong innings

to pick up the win. Lynn yielded only one earned run, two hits and

two walks while striking out five of the 21 batters he faced.

Richmond starter Thomas Martin lasted only 2/3 of an inning and was

credited with the loss.

Clemson's big first inning started with two outs when Khalil Greene

singled to left field. Baker then hit a towering blast over the left

field fence for his first home run of the year and Schmidt followed

with a home run of his own to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. The

back-to-back feat was last accomplished by Greene and Baker on April

30, 2000 at Georgia Tech.

The onslaught continued in the second inning. Designated hitter

Russell Triplett and catcher Seth Miller led off the inning with

singles and right fielder Casey Stone was hit by a pitch to load the

bases. Miller scored on a balk by Spider pitcher Bake Leonards and

Greene reached on an error to load the bases once again. Baker hit a

3-0 pitch out of the ballpark for his first career grand slam to give

Clemson an 8-0.

The Tigers would stretch their lead to 9-0 when Greene drove in Stone

in the bottom of the third. Greene, Stone and Baker all went 3-4 from

the plate on Saturday.

Richmond got on the board in the sixth inning when Vito Chiaravalloti

hit a ball that bounced off Lynn, allowing runner Bryan Prtiz to

score. Later in the inning, third baseman Matt Craig scored after a

balk by relief pitcher Thomas Boozer was called for a balk and the

Spiders cut the deficit to 9-2.

Clemson added five runs in the eighth inning to put the game away and

secure its first victory of the season

The teams conclude their series on Sunday at 1:00 PM. The game will

be broadcast on WCSZ-AM (1070) in Greenville.

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