After sweeping Georgia and winning the previous three games, the Tiger baseball team fell to Duke twice over the weekend to bring the team’s record to 23-10, 10-5 in ACC play. With the two losses, the Tigers’ national rank was not affected; the team still remains in 11th place.
During the weekend, Duke rounded in 22 of their 44 base runners while the Tigers put 60 men on base, scoring 22 runs as well. The Clemson team, however, left 31 men stranded on base, compared to Duke’s 14 in the series.
The Durham, N.C.-based series started on Friday, where the Tigers began with a 3-0 lead in the second inning only to have the Blue Devils answer back with a four-run fourth inning. After a back and forth exchange between the two teams, Clemson went into the bottom of the eighth inning with an 8-5 lead; the Tiger bullpen couldn’t handle Duke’s sluggers, who rallied to score five more runs to clinch the win 10-9. Junior John Nester helped the Tigers’ cause with a two-out, three-run homerun in the third inning to give the original lead to the team.
Saturday was a different story; the Tiger men took the Blue Devils to 11 innings to win the game 11-5. The top of the eleventh was a fielder’s nightmare, as Duke pitcher, Junior Jeff Schaus, led the Tigers with a two-run homer in the fifth inning and four RBIs, including a clutch two-run single that added to Clemson’s lead in the final inning. Although Clemson escaped with a win, the team left 16 runners stranded on base compared to Duke’s five.
The series finale took place at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, where both teams enjoyed sunny skies and 75-degree weather. The ideal weather was not enough for a win for the men in purple and orange as the Tigers let the Blue Devils get away with a hard-fought 7-2 win. Duke was led by freshman pitcher Chase Bebout (4-0) who pitched a full seven innings and gave up only six hits and five walks; the game was closed out by sophomore Ben Grisz who finished the job with the save.
Clemson sophomore Will Lamb started the game and only pitched three innings, giving up four runs on four hits. He was the first of four Tiger pitchers to play in the game, as the team just could not find a rhythm to keep them in contention.
The Clemson team was led by sophomore John Hinson, who singled in the eighth inning to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. The Tigers were also led by senior Mike Freeman, who had two of the team’s nine total hits. Hinson went 13-for-24 in five games with two homeruns, three doubles, 12 RBIs, two steals and no errors to cap off an outstanding week in both field and batting play.
The Tigers will need to become stronger batters with runners on base if they wish to stay competitive in the ACC Atlantic.
The Clemson baseball team will host Western Carolina on Wednesday before moving on to a three-game series away against Georgia Tech starting on Friday, April 16 and ending on Sunday.
