If there is one word that describes the Clemson baseball team, it is relentless.
Despite the odds and despite how far they may be down in a game, the Tigers just keep coming. It is one reason why they are 13-4 this season in one-run games.
“We are a family,” shortstop Logan Davidson said. “We feel that way in the locker room, on the field or no matter where we are. We all respect each other and we all trust that we are going to get the job done.”
That’s the way it was Monday night when No. 5 Clemson trailed 14th-ranked Florida State by two runs heading into the seventh inning.
The Seminoles loaded the bases with one out and were a hit away from blowing the game wide open. Though he was running out of gas after pitching earlier in the three-game series, Ryan Miller found a way to pitch out of the jam by first striking out the first guy swinging and then getting the second to look at a called strike three to end the threat.
Moments later, with two outs, Kyle Wilkie delivered a base hit to centerfield, and after falling behind 0-2 in the count, Seth Beer sent Clayton Kwiatkowski’s 1-2 offering over the wall in left field to tie the game at 4.
The Tigers’ (37-12) good fortune continued in the ninth when Sam Hall made tremendous catch on a Drew Mendoza line to left centerfield, which appeared headed for a wide open gap that would have allowed Cal Raleigh to come around from first base and score the go-ahead run.
However, none of that took place as Hall tracked down the Mendoza ball and made the catch just before running into the wall for the Seminoles’ final out.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Jordan Greene ended the game with his bomb to left centerfield.
“I just can’t say enough about our team and how selfless they are and hard they competed and found a way to get it done,” Clemson head coach Monte Lee said.
Clemson got it done again Wednesday night against Western Carolina. This time it came in the sixth inning with the game tied at 7.
Chris Williams brought home two runs in a three-run inning with a double down the left-field line, allowing the Tigers to win the game 10-8.
“Definitely at home, we always have that feeling that we are going to win, especially in tight ballgames,” Davidsons said. “Our pitching staff does a great job of keeping us in the game and keeping us right there or on top.”
Clemson will try and go for it 12th win in its last 13 games when it hosts Austin Peay in a three-game series tonight (6:30 p.m.) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson.