On a day when the wind was blowing out of Doug Kingsmore Stadium, Clemson and Florida State combined for seven home runs. And though the 15th-ranked Seminoles had one more than the Tigers, it was Clemson that got the most out of them.
The Tigers tallied 13 hits overall, including home runs from Grayson Byrd, Chris Williams and Seth Beer in routing FSU, 12-7, Sunday in Clemson. With the win, the Tigers tied the three-game series. The rubber match will be Monday at 7 p.m., on ESPN 2.
Clemson (35-12, 18-8 ACC) scored at least one run in each of the first five innings and every player in the lineup got a hit and scored at least one run.
“What a ballgame by our team today,” Clemson head coach Monte Lee said afterward.
Logan Davidson had two hits and drove in a run, while Patrick Cromwell had two hits and 2 RBIs in the victory. Beer finished with two hits as well, while Byrd’s home run was a three-run shot in the bottom of the third that blew the game open for the Tigers.
“Our balance was really, really good,” Lee said. “We only had three strikeouts on offense. We swung the bats very well and were very aggressive.”
After Florida State (32-15, 14-11 ACC) got home runs from Jackson Lueck and Cal Raleigh in the top of the first inning, Clemson got a two-out hit from Cromwell to tie the game in the inning’s bottom frame.
Kyle Wilkie led off the inning with a base hit just left of the bag at second. Beer followed with a walk and Williams was hit by Seminoles’ starter Andrew Karp to load the bases.
Two batters later, with two outs, Cromwell sent a rocket up the middle and into center field, allowing both Wilkie and Beer to come home with the tying runs.
“That was kind of big,” Cromwell said. “That would have been kind of a let down if we had the bases loaded and did not get anything out of that inning, but luckily I stayed up the middle with it and got a hit. That’s what got us rolling.”
Clemson took the lead in the bottom of the second inning when Davidson singled to right field, allowing Sam Hall to come home from second base with the go-ahead run.
Hall led off the inning with a double to left field. The ball was missed played by Florida State left fielder, Lueck, who reached up and had the ball bounce off the top of his glove.
Two batters later, Davidson singled to right to score Hall.
For the second time in the afternoon, Clemson answered a Florida State score with one of its own.
This time Byrd got a hold of Karp’s first pitch and sent it to left center field for a three-run home run. The home run gave the Tigers a 6-3 lead at the time.
The rally started when Beer singled to right center field and Chris Williams reached on an error after FSU third baseman Drew Mendoza muffed a routine play at third base. On the next play, Byrd took Karp’s first pitch to left center for his three-run shot.
Cromwell singled to right field, and Drew Wharton doubled down the left field line. Hall then brought Cromwell home with a fielder’s choice to short for a 7-3 lead.
Clemson added to its lead a batter later when Robert Jolly brought Wharton home with a one-out single through the left side. Jolly’s hit gave the Tigers an 8-3 lead after three innings.
Clemson once again answered a Florida State run with a run of its own in the fourth. This time, it came from Chris Williams.
The Tigers’ first baseman sent Karp’s 1-1 fastball to straight away center field for a solo home run. The bomb gave Clemson a 9-4 lead.
The Seminoles got a solo home run from Raleigh, his second of the day, in the top of the fourth inning. Then Williams answered it with his team-leading 14th home of the season, and the Tigers’ second of the afternoon.
Clemson picked up three more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, including Beer’s solo home run to right field, his 13th of the year.