Jarren Purify had one of those days where you stop keeping stats and just watch. Four hits in six at-bats. A homer. Six runs. Three stolen bases. Clemson swept La Salle on Saturday, 6-4 and 16-4, but it’s Purify’s line that tells the real story of how dominant the Tigers were.
The first game was nothing like the second. Game 1 was a fight. Clemson had to deal with sloppy defense on both sides, three double plays turned by La Salle, and a bullpen that nearly blew a comfortable lead. Game 2 was over before halftime. Mercy rule in the seventh. It looked more like Clemson was taking batting practice.
After Friday’s 14-1 win, you’d think the morning game would be more of the same. Wasn’t even close. La Salle showed up. They turned three double plays, got timely hits, played clean baseball when it mattered. For seven innings it looked like either team could take it. That hadn’t happened all series.
Michael Sharman came out looking like the guy who swept three national awards last week. Five innings, three hits, zero earned runs, eight strikeouts. Didn’t walk anybody. Not one. After shutting down South Carolina, Saturday he looked like he wanted another trophy. He left with a clean sheet and handed it to the bullpen.
Then Hayden Simmerson gave up two unearned runs in the sixth when a Clemson error opened the door. Then two more in the eighth. Suddenly it’s 6-4 and Doug Kingsmore got real quiet. Danny Nelson fixed that. Came in and didn’t let another ball leave the infield. Two innings, four strikeouts, zero runs. Second save of the year and it wasn’t close.
Here’s what stood out about Game 1. Clemson struck out once. Once. In 30 at-bats. But they walked eight times. The whole offense was built on making pitchers work. Fouling off pitches, running counts, taking walks, waiting for La Salle to crack. La Salle always did eventually.
Purify was different though. He didn’t need to wait. In Game 1 he went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, and scored twice. In the second game he added a homer, scored four more, stole two bases, walked twice more. That’s not a normal day. That’s a performance you remember.
Tryston McCladdie went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in the first game. Jay Dillard drove in a couple including a sac fly. It’s not flashy numbers but that’s how they won the first one.
Game 2 was different. Clemson just hammered the ball and La Salle couldn’t get out of the way.
Emilio Rodriguez started and lasted one out. One. He walked three batters in the first inning and threw a wild pitch and got pulled. They brought in Matt DeStefanis. He walked three. Then Christopher Gist came in. Then Sebastian Perez. Then Bruce Wadiak. La Salle cycled through six pitchers and five of them gave up runs. By the time they got to Lucas Edwards and he actually kept Clemson off the board, it was already 16-4.
Nate Savoie went 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Got hit by a pitch and walked too. Four plate appearances, reached base four times. Jacob Jarrell hit his sixth home run of the year and drew two walks. Tyler Lichtenberger doubled and drove in two even after getting hit by a pitch. Clemson got hit five times total in that second game. La Salle’s pitchers couldn’t find the zone.
Ty Dalley went hitless in both games but still knocked in two runs on a sac fly. Same guy who hit his first career homer to beat South Carolina. He’s weird like that.
Drew Titsworth picked up the win in Game 2. Wasn’t his best stuff, walked three, gave up two runs. Didn’t matter. The offense was scoring too fast. Ariston Veasey threw a perfect inning with three K’s. Landon Fowler and Peyton Miller were both clean. Six different arms pitched in a seven-inning game, 10 strikeouts total from the staff.
The numbers from this doubleheader are ridiculous. Twenty-two runs on twenty hits. Nineteen walks. Five hit batters in Game 2 alone. La Salle burned through 10 pitchers and only two of them didn’t give up a run.
Through three games, Clemson has run-ruled La Salle twice. Outscored them 36-9. Twenty-seven walks in three games. The pitching ERA is under 2.00 for the series. This is a lineup that doesn’t chase garbage. When pitchers have to come into the zone, Clemson makes them pay.
14-1 is 14-1. La Salle’s not an ACC team. But Clemson played this series right. Clean, dominant baseball. One more game Sunday to finish it at 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra before conference play starts.
