No. 8 Tigers take series over Owls |
CLEMSON - After a shocking blowout on Friday and a close victory on Saturday, No. 8 Clemson shut down Kennesaw State 7-2 to win the series Sunday. Senior infielder
Blake Wright led the way with four runs, a career-high for him.
The Tigers took an early 2-0 lead after a fielding error by Kennesaw State on a single from Wright eventually led to sophomore outfielder Cam Cannarella getting home. Wright eventually scored later in the inning on another fielding error by the Owls, giving Clemson the 2-0 lead. After a fast second inning, Clemson loaded the bases in the bottom of the third. Redshirt freshman Nolan Nawrocki stepped up to the plate and was walked, sending Wright home for the second time of the game and extending the Tiger lead to 3-0. Clemson got a pair of outs with the bases still loaded, failing to take advantage of the opportunity for more runs. In a common theme so far this season, Clemson got the bases loaded again in the bottom of the fourth and failed to capitalize as much as they could have. However, they did add one more run to their lead following a single from redshirt junior infielder Andrew Ciufo, sending Wright home once again and giving the Tigers a 4-0 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers added more runs to their lead. Ciufo got two additional RBIs after another single with the bases loaded sent Wright home, along with redshirt graduate outfielder Alden Mathes. The Tigers tacked on one more run with a sac fly from Nawrocki that sent graduate infielder Jimmy Obertop across the plate. In the top of the ninth, with one out and a runner on first and second, Clemson put in right-handed freshman pitcher Drew Titsworth. On his first pitch of the game, redshirt junior outfielder Nate Anderson for the Owls bunted and, on a throwing error by Titsworth, gave Kennesaw State their first run and advanced a runner to second and third. This was followed by a single from junior outfielder Chris Cole, who gave the Owls their second run of the game. Kennesaw State didn’t score again, however, ending the game at 7-2. Freshman right-hander Aidan Knaak started out pitching for Clemson and played a total of six innings. In that time, he had 77 total pitches, five strikeouts, three hits and one walk. He threw a total of 52 strikes. Redshirt graduate right-hander Matthew Marchal came into the game during the top of the seventh inning. In the 2.1 innings Marchal pitched, he had 50 total pitches, throwing 29 strikes and five strikeouts. He also only allowed two walks and two hits. Titsworth faced four batters and threw eight strikes, allowing one hit; the two runs that were scored while he was in the game technically went against Marchal, as he was the pitcher when they got on base. Clemson will play again at home on Tuesday, February 27, against USC Upstate (4 p.m./ACCNX), followed by the beginning of their series against the Gamecocks on Friday March 1 (7 p.m/SECN+), playing that game in Columbia before playing the second game on March 2 at Segra Park in Columbia (4 p.m./ACCNX) and then returning home for the final game of the series on March 3 (2 p.m./ACCNX). #Clemson led from start to finish in its 7-2 win over Kennesaw State to claim another series W. 👏
🎥 Clemson vs. Kennesaw State Highlights ➡️ 2/25/24 pic.twitter.com/xpu5tGnXFJ
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