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The 9th ranked Clemson Tiger baseball team took game three and the weekend series from the Gamecocks of South Carolina. Clemson used the long ball to the tune of five home runs including two Grand Slams to beat the 15th ranked team in the nation 19-6 and claim the first three game series between the two schools, two games to one.
The Tigers got things started in the second inning, when Richie Shaffer started things off with a walk on a 3-2 count. After Brad Miller lined out, Brad Nester also saw six the count get full before being
walked himself, moving Shaffer to second base. Up fourth in the inning
for the Tigers was Jason Stolz who was hit by a pitch, juicing the
bases for center fielder Chris Epps. Epps got the pitch he wanted on a 2-1 count and he took it
for a ride over the fence in center field for his second home run of
the season, and the Tigers first Grand Slam of the season, and ending the day for South Carolina’s starting pitcher Tyler Webb. The Gamecocks next pitcher, Steven Neff, wouldn’t fare
much better on the day, and in fact his first pitch of the game was
lifted over the fence in right-center field by Mike Freeman, putting
the Tigers on top 5-0, still in the second inning. After walking Kyle
Parker on five pitches, Neff would give up his second hit of the inning
to Wilson Boyd, a single to left field that scored Parker. Neff would
finally get out of the inning by striking out Richie Shaffer, but the
damage was done. In all, the Tigers scored six runs on three hits and
stranded one runner on base.
The
Gamecocks got back one run in the bottom of the second when Ebert
scored from second base on a single by Morales. The run was unearned,
and was the result of a fielding error by Tiger short stop Brad Miller,
his fifth of this young year.
After
a scoreless third inning for both teams, the Tigers would get two more
runs in the fourth thanks to an RBI by Schaus on an unassisted out to
the first baseman, and a wild pitch that scored Freeman from third. After the Gamecocks scored two more in
the bottom of the fifth to get back within five runs, igniting the
crowd, freshman Richie Shaffer would take the wind out of their
comeback sails with a three run homer. Shaffer came to bat with
runners on second and third base and two outs, and after getting ahead
in the count 3-1, he took the next pitch of that hitters count deep
into left center field for his first career home run as a Clemson
Tiger. The inning would end with the Tigers again in complete control
of the game, ahead on the scoreboard 11-3.
Believe
it or not, the scoring still wasn’t done for the Tigers, as they would
score one more run in the seventh, and two more in the eighth to go up
14-3 heading to the bottom half of that inning. Then, after giving up
three runs in the bottom half of the eighth, the Tigers again got on
the score board in the ninth inning when Addison Johnson blasted a 1-0 pitch to right
center field for a solo home run, giving the Tigers a 15-6 lead. Later
in that same inning, Phil Pohl would get a chance with the bases
loaded, and the sophomore catcher would make the most of it, blasting
another Grand Slam over the right field fence, running the score to an
astounding 19-6, where the scoring would end for both teams on the day.
Scott Weisman got the start for Sunday’s series finale,
and he didn’t disappoint, going six full innings giving up two earned
runs on five hits and two walks, racking up five strikeouts in 27
batters faced. Freshman Dominic Leone, Junior Alex Frederick, and
freshman Kevin Kyle all pitched in relief to finish things off for the
Tigers, combining to give up three runs on five hits in three innings
of work.
In
the end, the Tigers simply overpowered the Gamecocks on both sides of
the game, pitching and batting, but especially in batting. Clemson
batters combined for 19 total runs on 14 hits, five of which were home
runs including Clemson’s first Grand Slam of the season courtesy of
Chris Epps, and their second Grand Slam of the season thanks to Phil
Pohl. Other Tiger players with home runs were, Addison Johnson, Richie
Shaffer, and Mike Freeman.
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