Clemson and Florida State locked up in an old-fashioned baseball duel Saturday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Seminoles pulled out the 4-3 win thanks to a pinch-him homer by James Tibbs in the seventh inning. The Tigers got the tying run to second in the seventh but stranded him, then went down in order in the eighth and ninth innings.
The Tigers took a quick 2-0 lead in the first on back-to-back solo homers by Blake Wright and Max Wagner. The Seminoles took the lead with three runs in the fifth only to see Wagner crank his 17th homer of the season in the sixth to tie the game. Wagner has homered in five straight games and ranks among the nation’s leaders in home runs.
Geoffrey Gilbert started on the mound for Clemson and gave up three runs over 4.1 innings. Nick Hoffman (3-5) worked the next 2.1 innings and gave up one run, but that was the winning home run. Three other Clemson relievers finished up and did not allow a hit.
The loss was Clemson’s first in six one-run games this season. The Tigers are 25-14 and 4-11 in the ACC. Florida State is 24-14 and 11-9 in the league. The rubber game of the series will be Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM.
