Tag: Austin Gordon

Two Clemson pitchers selected on Day 2 of 2024 MLB Draft

Austin Gordon was a fourth-round pick by the Los Angeles Angels Monday. Tristan Smith was drafted in the fifth round by the Cincinnati Reds.

A pair of Clemson pitchers were selected in the first five rounds of the 2024 MLB Draft Monday.

Right-hander Austin Gordon was taken in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Angels with the No. 110 overall pick. Left-hander Tristan Smith was drafted in the fifth round by the Cincinnati Reds at No. 150 overall.

The slot value for Gordon’s selection is $662,000; for Smith, it’s $448,770.

Both pitchers played key roles for the Tigers in 2024. Gordon began the year in the starting rotation before being shifted to the bullpen. He finished with 11 saves and ended the year 2-2 with a 4.35 ERA in 39 1/3 innings over 22 appearances (17 in relief). Gordon struck out 53 batters and walked 18.

In three seasons for the Tigers, Gordon was 5-6 with a 4.64 ERA in 151 1/3 innings. The Myrtle Beach native totaled 160 strikeouts and 49 walks in that span.

For his part, Smith was the Tigers’ best starter before an ankle injury sidelined him for a month near the midway point of the season. He ended the year making 12 starts and going 2-1 with a 4.47 ERA in 50 1/3 innings. Smith struck out 66 batters and walked 32.

Before his injury, Smith was 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA in five starts. He held opponents to a .179 average in that span.

Smith pitched in 36 games, including 18 starts for Clemson over two seasons. He totaled 82 innings pitched and fanned 109 batters while walking 57.

Clemson infielder Blake Wright and outfielder Will Taylor were also chosen on Day 2 of the MLB Draft. Wright was a fourth-round selection by the Colorado Rockies at No. 106 overall. Taylor was a fifth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates (No. 145 overall).

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Clemson players react to loss to Florida in Super Regional

Hear from Clemson players Blake Wright, Jimmy Obertop and Austin Gordon after Sunday’s game.

The Clemson baseball team’s hopes of reaching Omaha and taking home a national championship in the College World Series ended Sunday in a wild, 13-inning 11-10 loss to the Florida Gators at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The Tigers ended their season at 45-16 overall. They got home runs from senior second baseman Blake Wright and senior first baseman Jimmy Obertop in Sunday’s game — the 22nd of the year from each player. Wright had four hits as part of a 4-for-6 game.

RELATED: Florida Gators end Clemson baseball’s season with 13th inning walk-off

Cam Cannarella added four RBIs, including his 11th home run. The Tigers’ centerfielder made a spectacular catch in centerfield to preserve a 9-9 tie in the 10th inning.

After the game, Wright, Obertop and pitcher Austin Gordon met with reporters. Here’s a video of everything the players said.

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Watch as Clemson players, Erik Bakich discuss Tigers’ sweep at Clemson Regional

Here’s everything Clemson coach Erik Bakich and crew had to say after the Tigers advanced to their first Super Regional in 14 years.

Clemson is headed to the Super Regional.

The Tigers (44-14 overall) defeated Coastal Carolina, 12-5, Sunday evening at Doug Kingsmore Stadium to win the school’s first NCAA Tournament Regional since 2010.

Clemson totaled 14 hits in the game and got three RBIs atop the lineup from Alden Mathes and Jacob Hinderleider, plus home runs from Cam Cannarella and Jimmy Obertop. Blake Wright had two hits and an RBI, as well.

RELATED: Tigers head to first Super Regional in 14 years after winning Clemson Regional

Ethan Darden started and pitched 4 2/3 solid innings to put the Tigers in a good spot as they built a 6-2 lead midway through the game. After Coastal Carolina (36-25) cut the lead to 6-5 in the top of the eighth, Clemson put the game out of reach a half-inning later by tallying six runs on five hits.

Austin Gordon got the final out of the eighth inning and pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the game.

Afterwards, Hinderleider, Wright and Gordon joined Clemson coach Erik Bakich to discuss Sunday’s victory with reporters. Here’s everything Bakich and the players had to say.

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Santucci sizzles with 11 K’s as No. 6 Duke downs No. 10 Clemson in ACC home opener

No. 6 Duke uses home runs and excellent pitching from Jonathan Santucci to down No. 10 Clemson.

For the second Friday in a row, Duke’s baseball team handed a loss to a top-10 team.

This time, it took place in Durham as Duke opened up its ACC home slate with a decisive 5-2 win over the 10th-ranked Clemson Tigers.

Duke ace Jonathan Santucci was razor-sharp as he bounced back from a short-lived showing against Wake Forest last Friday evening. He didn’t make it through three innings in his previous start, but he tossed five innings of two-run ball against Clemson.

The game started rocky after a fielding error allowed Clemson’s best player and future first-round draft pick, outfielder Cam Cannarella, to reach first. A wild pitch and some productive hitting got him to third before a single by third baseman Blake Wright scored him to give the Tigers an early 1-0 lead.

In the bottom frame, Duke responded loudly. With one out, a Ben Miller walk and a single by Alex Stone set the stage for Harvard transfer Logan Bravo to hammer a 2-0 pitch from Clemson starter Austin Gordon to right center for a three-run homer, giving the Blue Devils a lead they would never relinquish the rest of the game.

Santucci, from there, would settle down. He pitched two scoreless innings, racking up more strikeouts using his fastball, changeup, and slider in perfect unison.

In the bottom of the third, Bravo added more insurance, ripping a line drive to left field for his second homer of the game, giving Duke a 4-1 lead.

Clemson’s Blake Wright responded with a home run at the top of the fourth to cut Duke’s lead to two runs, but Santucci avoided further damage after maneuvering through a bit of trouble with two runners on.

The Blue Devils’ star pitcher would end his day in the fifth after getting Wright to fly out to right field. He finished with 11 strikeouts, three walks, and two runs allowed (one earned) on 96 pitches through his five innings pitched.

A Macon Winslow home run gave Duke its fifth and final run of the evening, pushing it ahead 5-2. Winslow finished his day three-for-three with a walk.

From there, Duke’s bullpen held down the fort as Owen Proksch pitched 1.1 innings and paved the way for Duke’s do-it-all reliever Charlie Beilenson to close the game with 2.2 innings of work for his eighth save of the season.

Duke held the Tigers to the second-fewest runs they’ve scored in a game all season.

The Blue Devils will lace their cleats back up and get ready to try and secure a series win tomorrow as the two teams get set for game two.

First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Clemson’s pitching, particularly in relief, off to strong start

Coming into the 2022 season, Clemson coach Monte Lee pinpointed the mound as the primary area the Tigers’ baseball team needed to improve if they are going to successfully rebound from last season’s disappointment. One weekend is a minuscule sample …

Coming into the 2022 season, Clemson coach Monte Lee pinpointed the mound as the primary area the Tigers’ baseball team needed to improve if they are going to successfully rebound from last season’s disappointment.

One weekend is a minuscule sample size, but Clemson is at least off to a strong start in that regard.

Thirteen pitchers combined to hold Indiana to eight earned runs in 28 innings over the weekend, helping the Tigers start the new campaign with a sweep of a fellow Power Six program. In three games, including a 10-inning finale on Sunday, Clemson limited the Hoosiers to 19 hits while piling up 31 strikeouts.

“You look at the weekend with 28 innings of baseball, we really only had one inning where we struggled to throw strikes. I’ll take that,” said Lee, whose team ranked 10th in the ACC last season with a 5.00 earned run average. “We forced the other team to swing the bat to beat us. I’ll take that.”

Sophomore right-hander Mack Anglin befuddled IU’s lineup for five no-hit innings at the start of a 9-0 win for the Tigers on Friday, but Clemson’s bullpen was just as strong in helping lock down the last two victories. The Tigers’ relievers limited IU to just two runs in 17 ⅓ innings on the weekend.

The bullpen having to log that many innings means not everything was perfect on the bump. Anglin was the only starter to get past the third inning. Nick Clayton couldn’t get out of the second in Saturday’s game before yielding four runs, and Nick Hoffman lasted just three innings in Sunday’s start.

“We need to get deeper into the ball game,” Lee said. “I’m not as concerned about getting hit as I am that we’ve got to be able to make some pitches with runners on base and get a little deeper in the game from the starting pitcher side.”

Hoffman walked three batters before his day was done, part of nine free passes issued by the Tigers on Sunday. But 10 relievers picked up the slack over the final two games to keep IU’s offense at bay.

Clemson faced a four-run deficit before the third inning Saturday, but freshman Casey Tallent and sophomore Geoffrey Gilbert kept IU off the board in the middle innings to give the Tigers a chance to rally and then some. Tallent followed Clayton with 2.1 hitless innings in his collegiate debut while Gilbert allowed just one hit and struck out four in two innings of work.

By that time, Clemson had a nine-run lead in what turned into a 19-4 rout. Austin Gordon, Rocco Reid and freshman Jay Dill combined to throw the last three frames, allowing just one hit and one walk among them.

“We have several guys that are built to start,” Lee said. “Those guys can go long. We can stretch those guys out and get them a time through the lineup if needed. That certainly helps when you’re able to go to those guys early in the game if your starter struggles.”

Things were dicier Sunday with the Hoosiers leading 4-3 after six innings. Jackson Lindley allowed one run in 2 ⅔ innings of relief, and IU scored the go-ahead run in the sixth against Ryan Ammons, who couldn’t get out of the inning.

But Alex Edmondson came on to get the final out of the frame and joined Ty Olenchuck and Dill to throw 3 ⅓ scoreless innings of relief to help the Tigers send the game to extras. In the 10th, Lee turned to first baseman/outfielder Caden Grice, who worked out of a bases-loaded jam after allowing a hit and two walks in his first mound appearance of the season.

“I knew I had the stuff to get us through that inning,” Grice said.

It allowed Clemson to walk it off in the home half of the inning on Bryar Hawkins’ sacrifice fly.

“I thought that was the difference in the game,” Lee said. “With the game being tied like that and us having the last at-bat, we had to keep it tied. Our bullpen was going to have to do a great job, Those guys at the end, they were just outstanding.”

Clemson will try to keep the momentum going Tuesday when the Tigers host College of Charleston for their first midweek game. Clemson will then entertain Hartford for a three-game series beginning Friday.

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