For the first time since the season’s opening weekend, the No. 6 Clemson Tigers traveled outside of the state of South Carolina to face off against No. 25 Georgia Tech at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta. The Tigers won the series against the Yellow Jackets, taking two of the three games to keep their weekend series streak alive.
Georgia Tech (22-6, 8-4 ACC) entered the series with just two losses in ACC play and three straight in-conference series victories. The Yellow Jackets had also just broken into the top 25 rankings after previously being unranked.
Clemson (26-5, 6-3 ACC) came into the matchup also with just two in-conference losses and wins in its first two ACC series of the season. The Tigers looked to extend that winning streak further and helped their case to do so by taking Game 1 on Friday evening.
At the plate, catcher Jacob Jarrell led Clemson with home runs in the fourth and ninth innings. Those home runs spelled the difference for the Tigers, as they came away with a 9-7 victory in Game 1.
Game 2 of the series kicked off on Saturday afternoon, and it was a game for Clemson to forget. After a highly competitive matchup the day prior, the opposite could be said about Game 2.
The Tigers were run-ruled by the Yellow Jackets in seven innings after allowing six homers, which resulted in 13 runs. That included a trio of three-run home runs, with two coming in the fourth inning. Georgia Tech handily took the second game over Clemson with an 18-2 victory, marking the Tigers’ largest loss of the season.
Clemson looked to bounce back in Game 3 of the series, which came just under an hour after Game 2 due to forecasted inclement weather on Sunday, forcing a doubleheader.
B.J. Bailey made his first career start for the Tigers in the series finale and capitalized on the opportunity. Bailey left the game after 6.2 innings with only four hits and one run allowed, as well as a career-high eight strikeouts.
Bailey’s strong performance allowed Clemson to keep the game close, and a pair of runs in the ninth inning sealed the 4-3 victory for the Tigers.
After the game, head coach Erik Bakich was proud of how the team bounced back from the first game of the doubleheader.
“Awesome response by our guys,” Bakich said. “We absolutely got crushed as bad as you can get beat in Game 1, but our guys were able to flush it. They came back ready to compete, ready to get after it in Game 2.”
Bakich also added how pivotal Bailey’s outing was for Clemson to take home the victory.
“B.J. Bailey just solidified himself as a weekend starter for the Clemson Tigers,” Bakich said. “What a performance. Couldn’t have done it without him.”
The Clemson Tigers return to action on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. when they face off against Georgia Southern in a neutral site matchup in North Augusta, South Carolina.