No. 4 Clemson survived an early deficit against Presbyterian before ultimately winning 11-2 and extending its win streak to 10.
With this victory, Clemson advances to 12-1 on the 2025 campaign. The win was the 100th victory for head coach Erik Bakich at Clemson.
The Clemson offense picked up steam in the fifth after a slow start, when it put six runs on the board, sending 12 batters to the plate. The Tigers were able to get on the board for the first time when Dominic Listi roped a double down the first base line, which skipped out of the first baseman’s reach, driving home Jack Crighton.
Jarren Purify immediately followed with a sacrifice fly to right-center field, effectively knocking the starting pitcher out of the game.
From this point on, Clemson didn’t look back, ultimately driving home four more runs in the frame. Clemson took advantage of their opposition’s mistakes, as Presbyterian pitchers combined for three walks and a hit-by-pitch. The Blue Hose also recorded an error in the frame.
The Tigers extended their lead and all but put the game away in the seventh when Purify scorched a 2-out base clearing triple to center field, scoring three runs. Luke Gaffney brought Purify home one batter later, with a base hit into left field.
“We’ve been doing a good job of finding ways to have big innings,” Bakich said after the game.
“We had a 6-spot and a 4-spot today,” he added. “Early on, we were finding our rhythm there, but once we settled in, we did a good job of taking our walks and getting some big hits.”
Clemson’s pitching staff put up yet another strong performance, allowing just two runs to the Blue Hose throughout the contest. Freshman lefty Brendon Bennett provided two innings of work to start the game, retiring six of the seven batters he faced.
Chance Fitzgerald allowed the only runs of the ballgame when he gave up a 2-run homer in the fourth to Ryan Ouzts. However, the bullpen as a whole recorded seven innings of 2-run baseball.
Clemson will be back in action this weekend when it begins a three-game series against Davidson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Game 1 of the series will be on Friday at 4 p.m.
