Clemson clinched its first ACC series with a 7-3 victory over Georgia Tech in game one of the doubleheader.
The Tigers found themselves down early after starter Brooks Crawford struggled his second time through the Yellow Jacket lineup. Crawford gave up three singles in the third inning, including a RBI single from Tristan English to put Georgia Tech on top 1-0.
Crawford struggled with command most of the day and Yellow Jacket batters continually took him deep into counts and fouled off several pitches. While he only faced 18 batters, Crawford’s pitch count was 82, an average of 4.5 pitches per batter. That resulted in him being pulled from the game after the fourth inning. He pitched 4.0 innings and gave up one run on six hits. Abnormally for Crawford, he didn’t record a single strikeout. Prior to this game, he had been averaging just under one per inning.
Clemson had problems figuring out Georgia Tech’s starting pitcher, Connor Thomas. The first time through the order, Thomas retired seven of the nine batters he faced, including striking out four of them.
The second time through, the Tigers were able to get some production. Patrick Cromwell led off the fourth inning with a single, followed by another hit from Chris Williams. Robert Jolly then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners, but ended up reaching on an error that also allowed Cromwell to score.
That tying run opened things up for the Tigers, as they put together a four-run fourth inning to take a 4-1 lead.
The only other offense for Clemson against Thomas was a solo homerun from Seth Beer in the eighth inning that increased the lead to 5-1. It was Beer’s fifth homerun of the season and his second against Georgia Tech in this series.
That took Thomas out of the game, and Clemson pounced on reliever Andy Archer. They struck for two runs on three hits and a Georgia Tech error to increase the lead to 7-1.
Spencer Strider, who entered the game in relief of Crawford, made his fifth appearance for the Tigers and pitched 2.1 innings, giving up no runs on four hits. He also struck out five while walking one.
Carson Spiers entered the game to close it for the Tigers. He gave up a two-run homer to Joey Bart in the top of the ninth to cut the lead to 7-3, but shut the door on the Yellow Jackets to secure the win.
Game two of the doubleheader and the series finale is scheduled for approximately 4:15 p.m. weather permitting.
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Tigers pounce on Yellow Jackets, win 7-3 to clinch series victory
Allison Daniel, Sports Editor
March 10, 2018
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