No. 3 Clemson overcame a 6-6 tie with a two-run rally in the eighth inning to secure a 9-7 victory over No. 19 Georgia Tech at Russ Chandler Stadium on Friday night. The Tigers, who now lead the series 1-0, improved to 25-4 overall and 5-2 in the ACC, while the Yellow Jackets fell to 21-5 and 7-3 in ACC play.
Clemson jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the top of the first inning, including a run-scoring single from Luke Gaffney. Georgia Tech quickly responded in the bottom of the first when Kyle Lodise led off with a solo home run, making it 2-1. In the fourth inning, Clemson extended its lead as Jarrell hit a solo home run and Dominic Listi added a run-scoring single, pushing the score to 4-1 in the Tigers’ favor.
The Yellow Jackets answered in the fourth inning with Carson Kerce’s two-out double that scored a run. Later, in the fifth inning, Clemson scored an unearned run on a groundout by Josh Paino. However, Georgia Tech mounted a rally, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 5-5.
Clemson regained the lead in the sixth inning when Collin Priest hit his fourth home run of the year to put the Tigers ahead once again. Georgia Tech responded in the bottom half of the inning, adding a run to tie the game once more.
The Tigers took control in the eighth inning. Andrew Ciufo laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to bring in the go-ahead run, and Listi followed with a sacrifice fly to add another run. In the ninth inning, Jarrell hit his second home run of the game, a solo shot, to cap off the scoring at 9-7.
In relief, Lucas Mahlstedt (2-0) earned the win after pitching 3.1 innings, while Mason Patel (7-1) took the loss.
Clemson struck out looking once, while Georgia Tech had 10 batters called out on strikes looking. The Tigers reached base due to errors twice, while the Yellow Jackets did not commit any errors that allowed Clemson players to reach base. The Tigers also reached on a fielder’s choice once, while Georgia Tech had no such occurrences. Clemson was successful in advancing runners six times, compared to Georgia Tech’s three.
In terms of two-out RBIs, Clemson had three, while Georgia Tech managed two. Both teams left eight runners on base during the game.
Clemson had a team batting average of .306, going 11-for-36, while Georgia Tech finished with a .314 batting average, 11 hits in 35 at-bats. The Tigers hit .308 with two outs (4-13), while Georgia Tech struggled, hitting just .182 (2-11) in similar situations. With runners on base, Clemson hit .313 (5-16), while Georgia Tech managed a .250 (4-16) mark.
Clemson struggled with runners in scoring position, batting just .222 (2-9), whereas Georgia Tech hit .250 (3-12) in those situations. At the top of the order, Clemson was successful in getting on base at a .333 rate (3-9), while Georgia Tech was even more efficient, hitting .556 (5-9) in lead-off situations.
Clemson was very successful with runners on third base and fewer than two outs, hitting .800 (4-5), while Georgia Tech hit .667 (2-3) in those situations.
Neither team had any success with bases loaded situations, as both were 0-for-0 with the bases full. In terms of advancement opportunities, Clemson was successful in 12 of 19 opportunities (.632), while Georgia Tech only capitalized on 7 of 19 (.368) such chances.
Both teams struggled with pinch hitting, as Clemson was 0-for-1, and Georgia Tech did not record a pinch-hit at-bat. Neither team had any opportunities against left-handed pitchers.
Clemson threw a total of 174 pitches in the game, with 108 strikes and 66 balls. Georgia Tech threw 166 pitches, with 100 strikes and 66 balls. The Tigers’ strike percentage was 62.1%, while the Yellow Jackets had a slightly lower strike percentage at 60.2%.
In terms of defense, Clemson threw out one would-be base stealer (0-1), while Georgia Tech threw out two (0-2). Clemson did not turn any double plays, while Georgia Tech recorded one. Both teams had 27 putouts, with Clemson assisting on 9 plays and Georgia Tech on 10.
Clemson committed one error, which was costly in terms of unearned runs, while Georgia Tech made three errors during the game. This contributed to the Tigers’ higher fielding percentage of .973 compared to Georgia Tech’s .925.
Both teams saw similar results in terms of fly balls (Clemson 10, Georgia Tech 5) and ground balls (Clemson 10, Georgia Tech 11). Both teams allowed four extra-base hits during the game.
When pitching against leadoff batters, Clemson was successful in 5 of 9 instances, while Georgia Tech managed to get just 3 outs in 9 chances. With runners on base, Clemson limited Georgia Tech to 4 hits in 16 at-bats (.250), while Georgia Tech allowed 5 hits in 16 at-bats (.313) when Clemson had runners on.
Clemson’s pitching against left-handed batters was effective, holding Georgia Tech to 5 hits in 15 at-bats (.333). Georgia Tech was less successful in this situation, managing only 4 hits in 13 at-bats (.308). Both teams had slightly better pitching with two outs, as Clemson allowed just 2 hits in 11 at-bats (.182), while Georgia Tech gave up 4 hits in 13 at-bats (.308).
The series continues Saturday at 4 p.m.
