Clemson’s starting pitcher, Austin Gordon, had a promising start to the game on Thursday night, striking out the first batter he faced. However, it was downhill from there for the Tigers as Wake Forest’s offense exploded for eight runs, including a two-run homer by Nick Kurtz in the first inning and a three-run homer by Chris Katz in the eighth inning.
Despite a valiant effort by Clemson’s offense, which scored three runs and had several opportunities to score more, the team ultimately fell to Wake Forest 8-3. The loss drops Clemson’s overall record to 16-11 and their ACC record to 2-5, while Wake Forest improves to 24-3 overall and 8-2 in conference play.
Gordon (0-2) suffered the loss, giving up six hits, five runs, and two walks in five innings pitched. Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder (6-0) earned the win, allowing seven hits, two runs (one earned), and one walk with six strikeouts in seven innings pitched.
“I thought we had some quality at-bats, but we really didn’t do any damage. They hit 3 home runs and we didnt…They got the big hits and we didnt”
Coach Bakich
After Kurtz’s early homer, Wake Forest added three more runs in the fourth inning, including a two-run homer by Justin Johnson. Clemson finally got on the board in the sixth inning when Will Taylor hit a double and later scored on an error, followed by Caden Grice scoring on a sacrifice fly by Blake Wright.
But Wake Forest responded in the eighth inning with Katz’s three-run blast, and while Clemson was able to score one more run in the bottom of the inning on Benjamin Blackwell’s sacrifice fly, it was too little, too late for the Tigers.
Despite the loss, Clemson can take some solace in the strong performance of Taylor, who went 3-4 with a double, two singles, and an RBI. But overall, it was a frustrating night for the Tigers, who couldn’t seem to get much going on offense and struggled to get outs on defense.
The Tigers will have to quickly regroup and come up with a new game plan if they hope to prevent losing their series against Wake Forest. The series continues on Friday at 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra, which means that the team will have another chance to turn things around. The loss in the first game was a tough one, but they can’t afford to dwell on it. They will need to refocus and make some key adjustments to their approach in order to be successful in the upcoming game. It’s a crucial moment for Clemson, and they will need to bring their A-game to have any chance of emerging victorious.
