All eyes were on Mack Anglin, as Clemson’s No. 1 starter tried to put previous Friday night pitching performances against Pitt and Miami behind him.
In Clemson’s 14-3 win over N.C. State on Friday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, Anglin looked like a completely different pitcher. He held the Wolfpack to just three hits in five innings, striking out eight batters and leaving everything he had on the mound.
After Clemson’s landslide victory Friday, coach Monte Lee wanted it to be known that Anglin’s dominant pitching performance was the key to Clemson notching its second conference win to date.
“The story of (Friday) was Mack Anglin,” Lee said postgame. “We desperately needed a good start out of him, and he’s been on a tough stretch, and he came through for us today.”
Behind Benjamin Blackwell and Caden Grice, the Tigers were able to set the tone offensively. That much-needed momentum was all the run support that Anglin would need. Blackwell got the home half of the first started with a base hit. He was quickly joined by Cooper Ingle, Bryar Hawkins, Blake Wright, Chad Fairey and Caden Grice, who each accounted for multiple hits, as Clemson pounded 16 vs. N.C. State.
Grice was finally able to have a breakout performance, and in doing so, was able to give a glimpse of what he’s capable of at the plate. He went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a pair of walks.
After giving much credit to his starting pitcher, Grice said he believes his team “swung the bats really well today, and that momentum is going to help them moving into (Saturday).”
On Saturday night, Nick Hoffman will be on the bump for the Tigers, as they look to take the series against N.C. State 6 p.m. at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.