Carson Spiers has become one of Clemson’s biggest go-to guys out of the bullpen and has proven that he is capable of achieving success in any situation he is placed in. After picking up his first career save on Feb. 17th, the sophomore earned his first career win Tuesday night in the sixth-ranked Tigers 6-3 victory over Wofford at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
With the Terriers leading 3-1, Spiers took the mound with one out and two men on in the top of the sixth inning and retired the next two batters to work out of the jam. He then pitched a scoreless seventh, eighth and ninth inning allowing just one hit with three strikeouts to earn the win.
“Hats off to Wofford they had a good lineup. One through nine could swing it a little bit,” he said. “They hit us around to start off the game.
“Then I got my named called and I just went in there and tried to pound the strike zone, force contact and let my defense work. Our defense is playing outstanding right now so just trying to let them make all of the plays.”
As the season goes on Spiers is becoming more and more acclimated to being a guy the Tigers call on in high-pressure situations. He is executing pitches and continuing to earn trust from his coaching staff.
“I feel like as the season goes on I am getting more and more appearances,” Spiers said. “So every time I go in I feel like I just belong out on the field.
“The infielders welcome me when I get on the mound so it’s kind of cool when they’re like, ‘Alright Carson, fill the strike zone up. Just do what you do.’ So as the season is going on I feel more and more comfortable going in.”
Spiers takes the mound with a clear head and never tries to over analyze. He is well aware of what he is capable of doing and only focuses on pounding the strike zone.
“I just go in and try to throw strikes, the Greenville, S.C. native said. “Coach (Andrew) See does a great job of calling pitches which calms us down as pitchers.
“He doesn’t make us think, ‘Oh gosh I need to throw this pitch here,’ he does all of that for us. So really when I get in nothing goes through my mind. I’m just hoping to throw a strike and spot it where Coach See wants me to.”
Spiers was overall pleased with the movement and location of his fastball Tuesday night and after settling in, was able to get his slider under control as well.
“My fastball was moving which was good for me. If my fastball doesn’t move I’m flat so my fastball moving is really good for me. Slider was kind of rough the first inning I went out there but as I went on in the game it got a little tighter which helped me out a little bit.”
As a Clemson baseball legacy, earning his first career win was felt on a very personal level Tuesday. Spiers is the grandson of Bud Spiers, the son of Michael Spiers and also the nephew of Bill Spiers who all played baseball for the Tigers.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “Being the first Spiers to get a win is pretty cool. Obviously all of the other Spiers who have played are hitters.
“But being the first Spiers to get a win is pretty cool to me. I just talked to my dad and he said, ‘That’s awesome. That’s a milestone in your baseball career,’ so having the first win under my belt is awesome.”
