Tag: Clemson and Florida State

Wright in time: Blake Wright slam helps Clemson take down Florida State in series sweep

NCAA Baseball: The Clemson Tigers erased an 11-2 deficit to rally past the Florida State Seminoles for the second straight day in a 14-12 victory and three-game series sweep in ACC play at Doug Kingsmore Stadium Sunday.

Blake Wright and the Clemson Tigers’ bats did it again.

One day after hitting a game-tying grand slam as part of an eight-run ninth-inning rally, the hottest hitter in the ACC launched another bases-loaded blast as part of a seventh-inning rally to help No. 3 Clemson out-slug No. 7 Florida State, 14-12, for a series sweep Sunday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Clemson (22-2 overall, 5-1 ACC) trailed 11-2 entering the bottom of the sixth inning. The Tigers got to within striking distance on run-scoring singles from Wright, Jacob Hinderleider, Cam Cannarella, and Andrew Ciufo, who had a two-RBI hit. Those four hits brought the score to 11-7.

After Lucas Mahlstedt pitched a scoreless seventh for Clemson, the Tigers drew four consecutive walks against Florida State relievers to force in a run and bring the score to 11-8. With the bases still loaded two batters later, Jacob Jarrell drew Clemson’s fifth walk of the inning to force in another run and make it 11-9.

Then came Wright’s latest heroics. The senior infielder sent a 1-1 fastball from Carson Dorsey well into the left field seats to empty the bases for his eighth home run in nine games.

It was the latest in a series of clutch moments for Wright, who had five RBIs in Sunday’s game and finished 3-for-5. The Sunshine State native has 13 hits in his last five games (a span of 22 at-bats), including six home runs and 21 RBIs.

In the three games against FSU, Wright hit three home runs and finished 6-for-14 with 10 RBIs. He now has 13 homers and 40 RBIs through 24 games while batting .365.

Clemson added an insurance run in the eighth inning when Ciufo singled off Joe Charles to make the score 14-11.

Rob Hughes completed a five-out save in the ninth inning. The right-hander allowed his first run of the season when Marco Dinges homered leading off for Florida State.

After walking Drew Faurot on a 3-2 pitch that missed inside, Hughes got Jaxson West, Alex Lodise and Max Williams to strike out swinging to end the game for his third save.

Mathes (3-for-5), Ciufo (3-for-4) and Cannarella (2-for-5) joined Wright as players that finished with two hits or more for the Tigers. Clemson totaled 14 hits in the game and 36 in the three-game sweep.

Mahlstedt (1-0) got the win in relief after throwing two scoreless innings. Dorsey (2-2) suffered the loss for Florida State.

Aidan Knaak started for Clemson and ran into trouble early. The big blow was a three-run home run from James Tibbs over the head of Cannarella in center field to stake the Seminoles to a 5-0 lead in the second inning. Tibbs homered off Knaak again in the fifth.

Conner Whitaker started for Florida State (19-3, 3-3) and scattered two runs through the first five innings before running into trouble in the sixth. He ended up charged with six runs on nine hits allowed in a no-decision.

UP NEXT

Clemson will host another top 25 team when Coastal Carolina visits Doug Kingsmore Stadium Tuesday for a scheduled 6 p.m. EDT start. Coastal Carolina is ranked No. 16 in the latest USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.

“Just how we drew it up”: eight-run Clemson rally stuns Florida State in walk-off

NCAA Baseball: The Clemson Tigers used an eight-run ninth inning rally to stun the Florida State Seminoles for a 9-8 come-from-behind victory in ACC play Saturday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Leading by seven runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Florida State needed just three outs to secure a victory over Clemson to earn a doubleheader split.

Good thing the Tigers have some of the hottest bats in the nation.

Jacob Hinderleider had already hit a three-run home run his first time up in the ninth. When he batted again later that inning, he lined a single to right-center that scored Jimmy Obertop to complete an eight-run rally and give No. 3 Clemson a stunning 9-8 walk-off victory Saturday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in a battle of two top 10 teams.

The win capped a doubleheader sweep of Florida State, which entered the day 19-0 and ranked No. 7 in Baseball America’s latest Top 25 rankings.

Clemson batted 12 times in the ninth. Hinderleider, the senior transfer from Davidson College, was in the middle — and end — of it all.

His three-run home run off Seminoles reliever John Abraham got the Tigers to within striking distance at 8-4. After Andrew Ciufo flied out for the first out of the ninth, Clemson’s bats went right back to work.

The Tigers loaded the bases after a double from Jacob Jarrell, a walk to Cam Cannarella, and a single from Nolan Nawrocki.

Who better than arguably the hottest hitter in the nation to have up with the bases loaded?

Blake Wright sent the first pitch he saw from FSU reliever Carson Dorsey to deep center field for a game-tying grand slam that sent the home crowd and Clemson’s bench into delirium. Counting game one of the doubleheader earlier that day, it was Wright’s second home run of the day and his eighth in the last nine games.

The ninth-inning fun was far from over.

Obertop was hit by a pitch and Alden Mathes walked to put the winning run in scoring position for Hinderleider, who ripped the game-winner off right-hander Joe Charles to complete one of the most improbable comebacks in Clemson history.

The final total for the Tigers’ ninth inning: eight runs on five hits. Hinderleider paced the Clemson offense for the game with three hits in a 3-for-5 performance. Wright (2-for-5) had two hits to continue his hot hitting. His game-tying blast was his 12th homer of the season.

“Before the game, we talked about getting into a huge deficit. and then we score eight in the bottom of the ninth,” Tigers coach Erik Bakich said afterwards. “Just how we drew it up.”

Clemson’s comeback ruined Florida State ace Jamie Arnold’s bid for his sixth win in as many starts this season. The left-hander, who led all NCAA Division I pitchers with a 0.33 ERA entering the game, proved again why he’s having one of the best seasons of anyone in the country.

After getting into some first-inning trouble, Arnold settled in to pitch seven solid frames. He allowed just one run and three hits, striking out nine and walking two. Mathes had an RBI single to score Cannarella and give Clemson an early 1-0 lead. Arnold responded by retiring 18 of the next 20 batters he faced.

Hudson Rowan pitched a scoreless eighth inning for Florida State but began the ninth by plunking Obertop with a pitch and walking Will Taylor.

Dorsey (2-1) suffered the loss in relief for the Seminoles. All five batters he faced reached base.

Clemson used four pitchers in the game. Austin Gordon lasted just two innings in his sixth start, allowing two runs on four hits. Rocco Reid and Joe Allen both yielded three runs apiece over the next five innings as Florida State built an 8-1 lead.

Freshman Jacob McGovern (1-0) earned the win for Clemson after tossing two scoreless innings in relief. The freshman from nearby Seneca High School retired six of the seven batters he faced in only his second collegiate appearance.

Clemson won the first game of the doubleheader, 15-5 in seven innings. With Saturday’s wins, the Tigers improved to 21-2 overall and 4-1 in ACC play. Florida State fell to 19-2 overall and 3-2 in conference action.

The series will conclude Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).

Schedule Change: Clemson-Florida State series opener pushed back to Saturday

Clemson Baseball: With the threat of inclement weather, Friday’s schedule series opener between the Tigers and Florida State has been pushed back to Saturday. Both teams will play a doubleheader Saturday before the series wraps Sunday.

CLEMSON, S.C. – Due to forecasted inclement weather on Friday evening, the series opener between Florida State and Clemson on Friday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium is postponed. The new series schedule is as follows…

• Game 1 – Saturday at 1 p.m.
• Game 2 – Saturday approximately one hour after Game 1 ends
• Game 3 – Sunday at 1 p.m. (as previously scheduled)

Live video for all three games of the series is available on ACC Network Extra. All three contests are also still scheduled as nine-inning games.

Tickets for Friday’s originally scheduled game are valid for the second game of the doubleheader, while tickets for Saturday’s originally scheduled game are valid for the first game of the doubleheader. The stadium will be cleared in between games.

–Courtesy of Clemson Athletic Communications

Conference realignment: Where does Clemson land in potential post-ACC world?

If Clemson University and its lawyers are successfully able to challenge the ACC’s Grant of Rights and leave the league, where would the Tigers most likely join in the next wave of conference realignment?

What happens if Clemson and Florida State are successful in their respective attempts to leave the ACC?

Does Miami, North Carolina, Duke and others follow them to one of the new “Power 2” conferences or to the Big 12?

Does the ACC continue on in a watered-down way without its biggest football powers and perhaps become a basketball-only league, à la the Big East?

Most importantly to Clemson fans and others looking at a potential/inevitable ACC collapse with a vested interest, what conference would the Tigers be most likely to join?

247Sports’ Brad Crawford and others have pondered that last question and posited that the SEC is the most likely landing spot for Clemson, if the school and its attorneys are able to break the ACC’s Grant of Rights agreement.

A potential Clemson move to the SEC would hardly come as a shock. The Tigers offer the league a lot in terms of recent on-field success — namely, they’re the only ACC program that played in the four-team College Football Playoff from 2015-2023.

Clemson would also be a natural fit in the SEC both geographically and culturally, as would another ACC school that 247Sports predicts would land in commissioner Greg Sankey’s league.