Clemson had 10 hits against Miami on Thursday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Miami had 10. And somehow the Tigers lost 8-3 in 10 innings because they kept getting on base and then doing nothing with it. Three-for-13 with runners in scoring position, 12 left on base. That’s eight losses in the last 11 games now. Same story every time.
Jack Crighton went 0-for-5. Nate Savoie, 0-for-4. Tryston McCladdie, 0-for-4. Zero hits from the top three in 13 at-bats. Meanwhile Tyler Lichtenberger had three hits batting eighth, Bryce Clavon doubled and singled out of the nine-hole, and Ty Dalley picked up two singles from the six spot. Bottom of the order doing everything. Top of the order doing nothing. That math doesn’t work.
All eight Miami runs scored with two outs. Every one.
Brylan West singled home Alex Sosa with two down in the first. Third inning, same thing. West doubled to score Sosa, Vance Sheahan singled to score West, and suddenly it’s 3-0 before Clemson even gets a hit. The Hurricanes loaded the bases with two outs again in the fifth, but Ariston Veasey came in and punched out Cian Copeland to kill it.
Jay Dillard and Lichtenberger strung together RBI singles in the sixth to tie the game at 3. Dion Brown and the pen kept Miami off the board through seven, eight, nine. Felt like the Tigers might steal this one.
They didn’t.
Brown walked Sheahan to start the 10th. Got Alonzo Alvarez to fly out. Struck out Dylan Dubovik. Two outs, guy on first, one out away from handing it back to the offense. Fabio Peralta got plunked. Jake Ogden fought off a 2-2 pitch and singled to short. Bases loaded. Daniel Cuvet hit a grounder to third that should’ve been the third out. Went right through. Three runs scored on the error, all unearned, and the stadium went quiet. Joe Allen came in for Brown, and Alex Sosa doubled to right center to score Cuvet. Derek Williams singled home Sosa. Five runs. Three hits. One error. Ballgame.
Aidan Knaak wasn’t the problem. He went 4.2 with six punchouts and three earned runs. Two of those came on the two-out West double and Sheahan single in the third. He battled, kept it close, and the bullpen picked up where he left off. Veasey was filthy. Came in with the bases loaded and nobody out in the fifth, struck out Copeland, then threw 2.1 scoreless on 40 pitches with four strikeouts. Brown gave Clemson 2.2 innings of zero earned runs before the error at third wrecked his line. Between those two, five innings of scoreless ball from the pen. Pitching wasn’t the issue Thursday night. Hasn’t been the issue for most of this skid.
Clemson had runners on in the eighth when Dalley singled and got to third on a wild pitch and a Lichtenberger single. Clavon flew out. Had runners on in the ninth when Savoie walked and Jacob Jarrell reached on an error, Savoie standing at third with one out. Luke Gaffney struck out swinging. Same thing that happened at Notre Dame. Runners everywhere, runs nowhere.
Bottom of the 10th? Dalley struck out, Dillard singled, Lichtenberger struck out, Clavon struck out. Done.
Clemson falls to 18-9 and opens the Miami series down a game. Series continues Friday at 8 p.m. on ACC Network at DKS.
The arms are there. They’ve been there all year. But 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position, eight losses in 11 games, and a top of the order that went hitless in 13 tries? That’s not a pitching problem. That’s a lineup that can’t cash in, and it’s been going on for a month.
