DOUG KINGSMORE STADIUM, CLEMSON, SC — In stunning comeback fashion, the Clemson Tigers beat the Western Carolina (WCU) Catamounts 11-5 tonight (Feb. 22). WCU starter Tristan Baker stifled the Clemson bats for the first five innings, mixing up his pitches and pitching to weak contact. Brendan Nail relieved Baker in the sixth which gave the Tigers their chance. In the seventh inning, Clemson took control of the game on Weston Jackson’s three-run, moonshot home run over the left field wall.
Western Carolina got things going early with a leadoff double in the first which turned into a quick first run. The Tigers’ starter, Tyler Jackson, had a hard time missing many WCU bats and was pulled very shortly after giving up two more runs in the top of the third. The Tigers got one of them back in the bottom of the inning off of a Reed Rohlman single to center.
The Catamounts scored two more in the top of the seventh off of true freshman Jacob Hennessy and increased the lead to four. Western Carolina right fielder Bryson Bowman hit home shortstop Brett Pope and scored himself on a Caleb Robinson single.
With the bases loaded and two out, Chase Pinder hit a bloop single to center field, scoring two runs and cutting WCU’s lead to two. Four more Clemson hitters came up with two outs, batting around in the process, including W. Jackson.
In the eighth, the Tigers put the game away for good. Nine more batters came up to score five more runs.
“We [have to] get up there and take aggressive hacks at the plate,” said Head Coach Monte Lee. “[W]e [have to] be more aggressive on the mound and just play more aggressive baseball, and have more energy when we play.”
In the first two-thirds of the game, the Tigers went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, adding to their run-scoring troubles. After Pinder’s bloop single, Clemson hitters were 4-for-6. Seth Beer did reach base during the game, but was a relative non-factor in the resurgence of Clemson bats.
The Tigers’ next game is at home against Elon University on Friday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m.