California had dreams of knocking off the No. 4 Tigers, but the Golden Bears had no idea what the weekend held, as Clemson turned that dream into a nightmare with a series sweep over the weekend.
Dominic Listi realized Clemson’s offense needed to get going in Friday’s matchup. In the top of the sixth, the graduate outfielder took a pitch left over the center of the plate for a ride, launching it over the right-center wall. This play put the Tigers (30-5, 9-3 ACC) on the board with their first runs of the young weekend, setting the tone of offensive firepower in the weekend series.
Listi stepped up to the plate in the following inning and once again hit a missile to the right-center gap, this time for a two-RBI double, putting the Tigers up 3-2.
Before Listi took over, the Tigers were down 2-0 with only one hit as a team through the first five innings. The only reason the Cal (16-15, 6-9 ACC) lead was not larger was because of Clemson’s exceptional defensive performance. Cam Cannarella extended his body on a leaping catch at the wall in the second, and Jarren Purify snagged a hard grounder up the middle, which seemed to be a sure base hit for the next out.
After Listi’s double, the Tigers broke the game open, eventually winning the first contest 6-4.
“Pitching, defense, timely hitting. That was the name of the game,” head coach Erik Bakich said following his team’s opening win.
Bakich continued to be impressed by his team’s defense all weekend.
Following the sweep, Bakich praised his players on their defense, “The defense we played might have been one of the biggest bright spots. Championship-level defense didn’t commit an error all weekend long.”
The Tigers left less doubt in the second contest, carrying the late momentum from the first game. Collin Priest opened the initial floodgates for the Tigers with a grand slam in his first at-bat to contribute to a six-run first inning.
The Golden Bears could not match the hot bats of the Tigers as Clemson whacked 15 hits in a 13-3 stomping. The game would end in the seventh inning due to a run rule.
The Tigers’ offense took a little longer to pick up on Sunday.
The Golden Bears got an early 1-0 lead, but Clemson gave themselves their first lead in the fourth as pinch hitter Tristan Bissetta ripped a two-run homer deep to center field.
When talking about the differences in the game, Clemson head coach Bakich was quick to point out Bisetta’s hit.
“The two-out RBIs, the timely hits, None bigger than Tristan Bissetta’s pinch-hit,” Bakich said. “3-0 count two-out, two-run jack to take the lead.”
Neither team was able to pull away the whole game. In the top of the ninth, Clemson left the bases loaded. The Tigers had their work cut out for them, up by only one run in the bottom of the ninth.
Lucas Mahlstedt stepped onto the rubber, hoping to secure the sweep. After giving up a single to what represented the tying run, Mahlstedt put down two Golden Bears before walking the represented winning run.
Mahlstedt had his back against the wall as a single tied the game, and a double in the gap would have stopped the sweep and sent Clemson home with an ACC loss. But Mahlstedt stayed composed, forcing a pop-out to the shortstop and completing the sweep with a 4-3 win.
The Tigers will return to Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Wednesday to take on Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m. This will be Clemson’s first home game since March 26.
