Clemson lights up scoreboard to complete dominant series sweep

Hawkins totaled four RBIs in an offensive onslaught against the Hawks on Saturday.

by Brandon Rink - Staff Writer - Sat Feb 26 20:34:30 GMT-04:00 2022

Clemson baseball continued its unbeaten 2022 run and capped a dominant weekend with a 28-3 win over Hartford (0-3) on Saturday. The Tigers totaled their second-most runs in a game all-time (the most being 41 versus NC State in 1979).

In the second game of a doubleheader, Clemson (7-0) scored 11 of its first 16 runs with two outs on the board.

Over the weekend sweep, Clemson outscored the Hawks 47-7 on 47 hits. In the Saturday nightcap, the 25 hits were the most in a game since 2006.

Clemson scored in each inning with an at-bat for the seventh time in program history and the first time since 2011.

"Great day for the Tigers obviously. We pitched really well, played great defense, scored a lot of runs," Tigers head coach Monte Lee said. "Just a great day. And the great thing about it is we just kept playing, regardless of the score. We kept putting together good at-bats. We were playing hard. We ran the bases hard. We stayed locked in. I thought our pitchers came in and did their job. We just played complete baseball regardless of the score and I was proud of the way our guys continued to compete and play the game throughout the course of the weekend...

"It was also good to get a lot of guys time on the field and get some at-bats today. All in all, it was a great weekend."

The Tigers led early Saturday on the strength of run-producing efforts from designated hitter Cooper Ingle (RBI groundout) and first baseman Bryar Hawkins (RBI single) in the first inning.

After Hartford tied things up in the next half-inning, Clemson found some two-out success.

Eight consecutive Tigers reached base after totaling two quick outs in the second, with Ingle lacing a hit to right field with the bases loaded for two runs and Hawkins hitting his second home run of the weekend for two more in the midst of a six-run rally.

Ingle added to his productive game with another RBI groundout in the third inning. Ingle finished with a game-high six RBIs. By the sixth inning, all Clemson position starters had tallied a hit and seven notched multiple knocks. Third baseman Max Wagner went 4-for-6 with five RBIs with a home run and a double.

Hawkins finished with nine RBIs over the weekend.

Clemson sophomore right-handed starter Nick Hoffman (1-0) worked out of early trouble and settled down to tally six strikeouts with three hits allowed and one walk over five innings.

Hartford broke a 20-0 Clemson scoring run with a solo homer in the seventh inning. The Hawks posted five errors in the game and eight for the series.

Clemson returns to action on Tuesday at home versus USC Upstate before the three-game, three-game site rivalry series with South Carolina.

6-RUN SECOND FOR THE TIGERS! ????

All with 2 outs, @IngleCooper delivers a 2-run single, and @bryarhawkins5 launches a 3-run blast to left!

?? 407 ft
?? 103 mph

B2 || HAR 2, CU 8

?? https://t.co/r1CiAOyy6f pic.twitter.com/y6uXVfAN15
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) February 26, 2022

The Tigers open up the scoring on a groundout from @IngleCooper and an RBI single from @bryarhawkins5! ????

B1 || HAR 0, CU 2

?? https://t.co/r1CiAOyy6f pic.twitter.com/uBBD0zyWRv
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) February 26, 2022

BASES ?? CLEARING ?? DOUBLE ??

Benjamin Blackwell brings everybody home on a rocket double to right! ??

B5 || HAR 2, CU 15

?? https://t.co/r1CiAOyy6f pic.twitter.com/h30UZGEggG
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) February 27, 2022

20-RUN GAME FOR THE TIGERS ??

French launches an RBI double off the wall and Starbuck adds an RBI triple! These Tigers can HIT! ??

B6 || HAR 2, CU 21 pic.twitter.com/wXaNbIFp63
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) February 27, 2022

3-RUN BLAST FOR @mdwagz9! ??

The sophomore third baseman goes DEEP to left-center to extend the lead even further! ????

?? 367 ft
?? 99 mph

B8 || HAR 3, CU 28

?? https://t.co/r1CiAOyy6f pic.twitter.com/v7jIITSReW
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) February 27, 2022