After a dominant 16-run performance on Saturday and a thrilling comeback win on Friday, the Clemson baseball team ran out of steam in the final game of the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington on Sunday, suffering a 15-5 defeat to Ole Miss in seven innings.
Returning from a two-game suspension for his ejection in the final game of the 2024 season, head coach Erik Bakich and his Tigers were unable to complete a tournament sweep, dropping to 2-1 on the season.
Game highlights
The Rebels came out swinging in the first inning, quickly taking control with three runs on three hits against Clemson pitcher LeGuernic. Federico led off with a single to right field, followed by Hill drawing a walk. Moerman then belted a home run to left, putting Ole Miss ahead by three runs early. In the bottom half of the inning, the Tigers were unable to respond, going down in order.
Ole Miss didn’t stop there, tacking on four more runs in the second inning. LeGuernic, given another opportunity, walked the leadoff batter, Sanford, and then allowed a single to Reuter. A fielder’s choice advanced both runners, and Sanford scored on a grounder to the pitcher. Hill then tripled down the right field line, driving in Reuter, before Utermark hit a home run, chasing LeGuernic from the game after just 1.2 innings. McGovern took over on the mound and struck out Moerman to halt the Rebels’ rally, but Ole Miss now held a commanding 7-0 lead. In the bottom half, the Tigers’ offense was stifled once again, managing a runner on second before McCladdie grounded into a double play to end the inning.
McGovern settled in during the third inning, allowing only a walk to Sanford but preventing any further damage. Clemson’s offense came alive in the bottom of the third, cutting into the deficit with two runs. Purify led off with a double and advanced to third on a groundout before scoring on Listi’s sacrifice fly. A single by Gaffney and a walk by Cannarella put two more Tigers on base, and Gaffney came around to score on a Paino single up the middle. However, Cannarella was thrown out at home on Priest’s fielder’s choice, ending the rally.
The Rebels quickly responded to Clemson’s two-run third inning, adding three more of their own. Brown, now on the mound in relief of McGovern, walked the leadoff batter, who advanced to second on a Federico single. Hill, who had tripled earlier, then launched a home run to right, bringing in three more RBIs. Dvorsky took over for Brown after he hit the next batter and managed to stop the rally. The Tigers weren’t finished, though, and struck back with two runs in their half of the inning. Singles from Jarrell, Ciufo, and Listi brought in two more runs, narrowing the gap to 10-4.
Dvorsky’s day ended after just a third of an inning, and Bailey came in to pitch the fifth. While it wasn’t the cleanest of innings, with a single and a hit by pitch, Bailey was able to limit the damage and keep the score at 10-4. The Tigers couldn’t capitalize in the bottom of the fifth, going down in order with no threat.
Hill wasn’t content with his four-RBI performance and opened the sixth inning with yet another home run, extending the lead to 11-4. In the bottom of the inning, McCausland quickly retired two Tigers before allowing a double to Ciufo and a walk to Listi. Back-to-back wild pitches allowed Ciufo to score and moved Listi to third, narrowing the score to 11-5.
The Rebels slammed the door on the Tigers in the seventh, adding four more runs to their already dominant 11-run performance, extending their lead to 15-5. Cole, in a brief outing, allowed two walks and a single, loading the bases before Brown came in to replace him. Brown gave up a sacrifice fly to Cheng, which scored Fawley, then a double by Federico brought in Sanford. Back-to-back wild pitches allowed Reuter and Federico to score, ending Brown’s day. Kieck came in and quickly retired two batters, sending the game to the bottom of the seventh. As several players were pinch-hit for, the Tigers managed to put two on base, but Castellani and Bissetta both struck out, sealing Clemson’s first loss of the season.
“We got behind early, and then we couldn’t slow them down,” Bakich reflected postgame. “We’ve played from many deficits, but we’ve always been able to hold it down in the middle or late innings so our offense could come back. But we weren’t able to do that today.”
“They just outplayed us, there’s really no excuses,” he added.
Up next
The Tigers will return home to Clemson, where they will prepare for their home debut against Presbyterian on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.
