Over the last two and a half weeks, the Clemson Tigers have played about as well as anyone in the ACC. On Friday night, that was not the case. Clemson committed four errors and starting pitcher Mack Anglin walked eight Georgia Tech batters as the Yellow Jackets picked up a 6-1 win in their series opener in Atlanta. The victory snapped Clemson’s seven-game winning streak and dropped the Tigers to 22-19 overall and 15-13 in league play.
The visitors got on the board first as Adam Hackenberg led off the top of the second inning with a double. He later scored on a one-out double from Davis Sharpe. The redshirt sophomore’s 10th RBI of the season gave Clemson an early 1-0 lead.
Macklin pitched around a walk and the first of Clemson’s errors in the opening frame, but he wasn’t as fortunate over the next three innings. Georgia Tech (22-18/16-12) tied the game in the second as Austin Wilhite scored on an infield groundout. Wilhite led off the inning with a walk, the third of the game to that point issued by Macklin.
The Yellow Jackets pushed home an unearned run in the third inning, before breaking the contest open in the fourth.
Following a lead-off walk, Luke Waddell tripled down the right field line to give Georgia Tech a 3-1 advantage. Waddell came home moments later on a sacrifice bunt, before a throwing error and passed ball put runners at second and third for the Jackets. First baseman Andrew Jenkins delivered a two-run single to left field to make the margin 6-1 in favor of Georgia Tech through four innings.
Anglin was pulled after the fourth having allowed just three earned runs on four hits. However, the bases on balls were his undoing as the eight he issued were a season high.
Clemson relievers Ricky Williams and PJ Labriola were great out of the bullpen, holding Georgia Tech scoreless over the final four innings. But the story was Yellow Jackets starter Brant Hurter who pitched seven strong innings to even his record at 4-4 on the season. The all-ACC academic team member also struck out eight without walking a batter. Sam Crawford worked the final two frames for the Yellow Jackets.
Despite the loss, the Tigers clinched a spot in this month’s ACC baseball tournament in Charlotte. Game two of the series is set for Saturday afternoon at 1pm.
Monte Lee Postgame Comments (Clemson YouTube)
