Caitlyn Tai
Clemson outfielder Dominic Listi runs to first base in the team's win over the Stanford Cardinal on April 11 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
The Stanford Cardinal rolled into South Carolina this weekend, hoping to cool off the red-hot Tigers. However, they quickly found themselves outmatched as No. 3 Clemson secured a dominant 2-1 series win that left no doubt who ruled the diamond.
The Tigers (33-6, 11-4 ACC) opened the weekend with an 11-1 rout at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Friday night. Aidan Knaak delivered one of his best outings of the year, throwing six innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts and just two hits allowed.
Clemson jumped out early in the opener, scoring two runs in the first inning. The first came on a Collin Priest line drive up the middle, scoring Cam Cannarella. By the third, the Tigers had jumped to a 5-0 lead on the Cardinal (19-14, 6-12 ACC).
Clemson broke the game open in the sixth, plating five runs off a string of timely hits — including an RBI double from Cannarella, a single from Jarren Purify, a double from Priest and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch from Josh Paino.
“It helps as a pitcher with tempo just always getting in that rhythm,” Knaak said. “Being ready is kind of our motto here, so we just want to keep the momentum going.”
Saturday’s game was one of the more dynamic matchups of Clemson’s season. Priest got the Tigers going, launching a three-run homer in the first. Stanford answered, scoring five runs, all with two outs in the top of the second, aided by a costly Clemson error.
The Tigers reclaimed the lead with a five-run bottom half, highlighted by an RBI single from Dominic Listi and an RBI double from Priest. Stanford surged again with a three-run fourth, but Clemson fought back. Paino launched a solo shot in the fifth, and Listi delivered the game-tying single later in the inning.
In the sixth inning, Jacob Jarrell played the hero for the Tigers, launching a go-ahead solo homer to lift No. 3 Clemson to a wild 11-10 win over Stanford.
“To be able to survive that early, it had all the makings of a huge slugfest and we had some guys that really swung the bats well,” head coach Erik Bakich said in his postgame presser.
Clemson’s bullpen stepped up late. Reed Garris tossed 2.1 scoreless innings, followed by three shutout frames from Lucas Mahlstedt, who earned his 12th save of the year.
“The storyline was kind of the second half of the game once Reed Garris and Lucas Mahlstedt went in and put zeros up, and to be able to hold a really good offense,” Bakich said.
On Sunday, the Tigers dropped the finale 11-6, ending their eight-game win streak and giving Stanford its first conference win in 12 games.
“They outplayed us today, they outcompeted us,” Bakich said. “They played great; they were the better team today.”
Clemson battled back from an early three-run deficit to tie it 3-3, sparked by Jarrell’s double. He hit .250 in the series with two home runs and three RBIs.
Jack Crighton and Andrew Ciufo followed with productive at-bats, including an RBI single and a sacrifice fly. Clemson leads the nation in sacrifice flies.
But pitching struggles mounted. Starter B.J. Bailey, who entered boasting a 1.36 ERA, gave up more runs and homers — seven and two, respectively — on Sunday than he had all season combined. After giving up a second two-run shot to Trevor Haskins, Stanford’s team leader with 11 homers, Bailey was pulled.
Wake Forest transfer Hudson Lee took over but allowed three more runs in the fifth. Clemson responded with two runs on singles by Purify and Priest, then turned to sophomore Chance Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald delivered one of the best outings of his young career: four innings with one run, two hits and three strikeouts against 13 batters.
Still, the early damage and a late Stanford homer sealed the loss.
“They got the two-out hits and the two-strike hits,” Bakich said. “They got 30 hits on the weekend, and 17 came with two-outs, so they did a really good job competing.”
Clemson looks to bounce back and continue its undefeated series streak this season against the Louisville Cardinals at Doug Kingsmore Stadium this Thursday.