Tryston McCladdie watched a 2-1 pitch from Bryant reliever T. Davis clear the right-center field wall in the fifth inning, and just like that, a game that had been knotted at three had a new owner. McCladdie’s two-run homer gave No. 19 Clemson the lead for good in a 7-5 win over Bryant on Sunday afternoon, completing a three-game sweep at Doug Kingsmore Stadium and pushing the Tigers to 7-0 on the young season.
It wasn’t clean. Clemson committed two errors, hit seven Bryant batters, and needed five pitchers to get through nine innings. But the Tigers kept answering, kept finding big hits when they needed them, and the offense stacked 10 hits with five doubles and two home runs to generate enough breathing room for the bullpen to finish the job.
Jack Crighton led the way at the plate with three hits. McCladdie walked and homered. Savoie tied the game in the first with a two-run shot of his own. Six different Clemson hitters recorded at least one hit. This lineup can beat teams in a lot of different ways, and Sunday’s finale showed all of them.
First-Inning Fireworks, Then a Stalemate
Bryant struck first. Zac Zyons got hit by a pitch to lead off the game, advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on a flyout, and scored on Ellis Garcia’s two-run homer down the left field line. Three batters in, Clemson trailed 2-0, and starter Talan Bell was already dealing with damage.
Clemson answered immediately. McCladdie walked, and Savoie turned on a 2-2 pitch and drove it down the left field line for a two-run homer. Tied at two, just like that. Savoie’s third home run in seven games. He’s not messing around this season.
From there, both offenses went quiet. The second, third, and fourth innings produced zero runs between the two teams. Bell settled in after the rough first, and Bryant starter Vanesko found a groove, keeping Clemson’s bats in check through four innings of work.
McCladdie Breaks It Open
The fifth inning changed the game. Justin Hackett led off with a solo shot to center for Bryant, giving the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead. For a brief moment, it looked like Bryant had stolen the game back.
Clemson’s response was quick. Tyler Lichtenberger walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth, and after two outs, McCladdie got the pitch he wanted from Davis and crushed it to right center. Two runs. 4-3 Clemson. That’s his third home run in seven games, and every single one has mattered.
McCladdie is doing the kind of damage you want from a three-hole hitter. He’s getting on base, he’s driving in runs in big spots, and he’s not chasing. The walk in the first inning showed patience. The homer in the fifth showed force. That combination is tough to pitch to.
Crighton and the Bottom of the Order Deliver
Jack Crighton’s afternoon was the kind of performance that doesn’t always make the highlight reel but absolutely wins baseball games. He doubled down the left field line in the fourth, singled to center in the seventh, then ripped an RBI double down the right field line in the eighth to push the lead to 6-4. Three hits, two doubles, an RBI, and a run scored. Crighton reached base in all four plate appearances. That’s about as productive as a day at the plate gets.
Jacob Jarrell added an RBI double to left center in the sixth that scored Luke Gaffney and gave Clemson a 5-3 cushion. Lichtenberger followed with an RBI double of his own in the eighth, scoring Crighton after Jarrell had been hit by a pitch. The bottom half of this lineup isn’t hiding. It’s producing.
Five doubles in one game. That’s extra-base damage without needing everything to leave the yard. Clemson is using the gaps and turning good swings into real production.
Five Arms, One Win
Clemson used five pitchers to get through this one, and the staff managed it well despite some bumpy stretches.
Bell gave Clemson three innings, allowing two runs on one hit with two strikeouts. The Garcia homer stung, but Bell limited the damage after that and kept the game close enough for the offense to respond.
Titsworth picked up the win, throwing two innings with three strikeouts and just one run allowed on Hackett’s solo homer. Dion Brown was the key bridge arm, logging 2.1 innings with three punchouts and zero earned runs. He allowed two hits and was charged with one unearned run, but kept Bryant’s lineup off balance during the middle innings when the game was still tight.
Dvorsky entered in the eighth and didn’t record an out before giving way to Joe Allen, who earned his first save of the season. Allen worked 1.2 innings, allowing one run in the ninth but getting the final out with a strikeout to end it.
The one concern: Clemson’s staff hit seven Bryant batters on the afternoon. Allen alone hit three. That’s free baserunners that could become a real problem against better lineups. The staff threw 164 pitches total with 98 strikes. The command needs to sharpen, but the results were there when it counted.
Bryant Wouldn’t Go Away, But Couldn’t Convert
Give Bryant credit. The Bulldogs fought all afternoon. They stole four bases, got hit by seven pitches, and put runners on base in seven of nine innings. But stranding 10 runners will lose you a game every time.
Zyons was hit by a pitch three times and scored twice without recording a single hit. Garcia and Hackett provided the power with a two-run and solo homer. But the middle of Bryant’s order went cold when it mattered most. Brandyn Durand went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, and Jacob Gaudreau was 0-for-3 with two punchouts. Bryant went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. You can’t win on the road against a ranked team with that kind of production in big spots.
The eighth inning was Bryant’s best chance to flip the script. Charlie Saul singled and stole second, Casey Wensley singled to put runners at the corners, and Durand reached on a dropped fly by Gaffney at first that scored Saul. It was 5-4 with runners at second and third and one out. But Gaudreau struck out swinging, Fiatarone got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Hackett popped up to second. Three runners stranded. That was the ballgame.
What 7-0 and the Sweep Mean
Seven games. Zero losses. Three-game sweep of Bryant. The numbers say Clemson is doing exactly what it should be doing against the early-season schedule.
Here’s what stands out beyond the record: this team has pitching depth. Five different arms touched the ball Sunday, and the Tigers still only allowed five runs with four earned. Brown’s 2.1-inning bridge with zero earned runs was the kind of middle-relief performance that becomes essential when conference play starts and starters don’t always go deep. Clemson has options in that bullpen, and the coaching staff isn’t afraid to use them early.
Offensively, McCladdie’s third homer in seven games puts him alongside Jarrell as early-season forces in the middle of this lineup. Crighton’s breakout from the DH spot adds another layer. This isn’t a one-man show. The Tigers are getting production up and down the order, and that balance makes them dangerous.
The competition level steps up soon. But 7-0 is 7-0, and a clean sweep sends a clear signal about how this team handles its business.
