The Clemson Tigers lost a midweek nonconference matchup against Wake Forest 15-4 in seven innings on Wednesday, continuing their tough stretch. With the loss, the Tigers drop to 19-11 and extend their disappointing stretch to 4-10 in their last 14 games.
The Demon Deacons effectively sealed the win in the sixth when they struck for seven runs, including a grand slam from center fielder Javar Williams to right-center field.
The game got off to a usual rocky start for Clemson; the Tigers surrendered three runs to the Demon Deacons in the bottom of the first on just two hits. Clemson starter Dylan Harrison struggled, walking and hitting the first two batters he faced. After surrendering two hits and three runs in 0.2 innings pitched, Harrison was pulled from the game, giving way to Noah Samol, who escaped the jam, facing just one batter in the inning.
In the top of the second, the Tigers had Tyler Lichtenberger at the plate and Bryce Clavon aboard at second base. Already down 3-0 in the contest and down 0-2 in the count, Lichtenberger attempted to call a timeout and step out of the box, but it was not granted, which led to a pitch clock violation and ended the at-bat and the inning.
Clemson head coach Erik Bakich immediately ran out of the dugout in frustration, prompting his ejection. Bakich continued to express his dissatisfaction with the call before exiting the field of play for the remainder of the matchup.
Throughout the contest, the Tigers used eight pitchers, with Samol being the only one to complete more than one inning. Only Landon Fowler and Peyton Miller completed their appearances without allowing an earned run.
The Tigers scored their first runs of the game in the third. With the bases loaded, Jack Crighton hit a hard ground ball right at third baseman Dalton Wentz, who tapped the bag and attempted to throw across the diamond for an inning-ending double play. However, his throw skipped past the first baseman, driving home Ty Dalley. This would prove to be all the Tigers could muster in the situation, as Jacob Jarrell followed Crighton’s at-bat with a strikeout.
The Demon Deacons, however, bounced right back, blowing the game open in the bottom of the third. Wake Forest exploded for four more runs, extending its lead at the time to 7-1 behind five hits and two triples. The Demon Deacons added another insurance run in the fourth, extending their lead at the time to seven.
The Tigers refused to go down quietly, though, finally providing some resistance in the fifth and responding to Wake Forest’s onslaught of runs. Tryston McCladdie started the frame with a solo home run to right field for his first hit of the ballgame. Clemson would ultimately string two hits together, striking for two more runs via an RBI single from Clavon and an RBI groundout from Luke Gaffney.
The Tigers will be back in action over the weekend when they face off against Stanford at Sunken Diamond in Stanford, California. Game 1 of the series will begin at 9:05 p.m. on Friday.
