The Clemson baseball team jumped out to an early lead with seven runs and sealed the victory with an eight-run ninth inning, cruising to a 16-5 win over the No. 12 Arizona Wildcats in Arlington on Saturday. The Tigers moved to 2-0 for both the tournament and the season.
Game highlights
The Tigers wasted no time, coming out strong and maintaining their momentum throughout the inning. They scored seven runs on eight hits, including one from Cam Cannarella, who had gone 0-for-4 in the previous game. Listi led off with a single to center, followed by a hit from Cannarella. Paino then singled up the middle, driving in Listi and advancing Cannarella to third. Priest hit a double down the left field line to score Cannarella and move Paino to third. Jarrell followed with a single to center, bringing in Paino. Bissetta then doubled down the left field line to score Priest. Purify and Listi (with his second hit of the inning) each had singles that drove in two more runs to cap off the big inning. Despite the surge, Arizona kept pitcher Kramkowski on the mound for the entire frame. On the Tigers’ side, Darden took the mound, giving up a walk and a single to left but preventing any further damage.
The second inning told a different story as the Wildcats handed the ball to Pluta. The Tigers went down quickly, with the only highlight being a single from Priest. Darden allowed a double to Breyfogle, who advanced to third but was stranded there. Arizona made another pitching change to start the third, bringing in Garayzar, who retired the Tigers in order. Darden matched him in the bottom half of the inning, sitting the Wildcats down 1-2-3. The fourth inning followed a similar pattern, with both teams going down in order once again.
After two quick outs to start the inning, Jarrell and Bissetta traded singles. With Jarrell in scoring position, Ciufo grounded out to third, ending the inning. Titsworth took the mound for the Tigers and gave up one run on two hits. His first batter, Breyfogle, hit a ground-rule double, followed by Summerhill, who singled to left, driving Breyfogle home. The score now stood at 7-1.
The Tigers went down quickly in the sixth, recording a strikeout, a groundout, and another strikeout. Titsworth had a smoother inning, allowing just a walk to Splaine.
The bats finally woke back up again in the seventh inning for the first time since the first inning, when Cannarella led off with a double to left. Priest followed with another double, this one to right, bringing Cannarella around to score. The Tigers bolstered their lead, 8-1. The Wildcats answered with a good inning of their own, putting up four runs. Breyfogie and Guzman led off with singles, then Meurant’s single up the middle drove Breyfogie home. A home run by Summerhill added three more runs to the frame.
In the eighth inning, both teams went down swiftly after the exciting seventh. The Tigers closed out the game with a bang in the ninth, doubling their total run count for the game. Cannarella started the inning with a double down the left-field line. Paino walked, Priest was hit by a pitch, and then Jarrell walked, bringing in Cannarella. Bisseta was also hit by a pitch, allowing Paino to score. The Wildcats switched pitchers, bringing in Martinez, who gave up a sacrifice fly to Ciufo, scoring Priest. Purify walked, and Listi singled, bringing in Bisseta and Jarrell. For the second time in the inning, Cannarella doubled, driving in Purify. Paino singled again, scoring Cannarella and Listi, the final Tigers to cross the plate in the ninth. With Allen coming in for the final 3 outs, he allowed a walk to Summerhill after two quick outs. A groundout finished off the Tigers’ 16-run day.
“We feel like we’re absolutely stacked as a team,” Dominic Listi said postgame. “Like Coach Packer said there’s like 14 guys on our team that deserve to be playing every single day, so we just all go out there and give everything we can as a team every single time and all the individual effort that we put in comes together great as a team there.”
Up next
Next up, the Tigers wrap up the tournament with a game against the Ole Miss Rebels at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow.
