DOUG KINGSMORE STADIUM, CLEMSON, SC – The Tigers dropped the first series of the year 2-1 after a loss in the rubber match 9-2 on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 19.
Alex Eubanks started the game for Clemson with a bang, striking out his first three batters with ease, but things went south in the second inning.
Raider Gabe Snyder led off the inning with a single, took second on a passed ball from Kyle Wilkie and stole third. He later scored off an RBI double from Adrian Marquez. Just two batters later, Seth Gray sent one out of the park for a two-run homerun that gave the Raiders a 3-0 lead.
Seth Beer answered with a homerun of his own in the fourth inning, a solo shot hit out dead center field to cut the Wright State lead to 3-1.
In the fifth inning, the Raiders added to their lead. They led off the inning with two consecutive doubles to score one run and then later scored another off a sac fly to go up 5-1. That ended Eubanks’ day with 4.1 innings pitched and five runs, all earned, on six hits.
Freshman Jacob Hennessy entered the game and got the remaining two outs in the fifth to stop the bleeding. He had four consecutive strikeouts in the sixth (one runner reached base after a dropped third strike) and ended the day after 1.2 innings pitched. He gave up one unearned run on no hits and had four strikeouts total.
Logan Davidson, who is off to a good start as a Tiger, added another homerun in the ninth, but the damage had been done.
Overall, Clemson used seven pitchers in the game. They combined to give up nine runs on nine hits with 13 strikeouts, three walks and two hit batters.
Offensively, the Tigers struggled to hit Wright State starter Danny Sexton, who threw 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts and only one run.
Outside of Beer and Davidson’s homeruns, Clemson could not string together hits on a consistent basis. When they did get opportunities with runners on base, Sexton was able to work himself out of the jam. In an echo of game one’s troubles, where 12 runners were left on base, the Tigers left seven runners on base and could not find a way to manufacture runs the way Wright State did.
The Tigers play Western Carolina on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.