Due to some inclement weather heading toward the upstate, Clemson and Georgia Tech will get tomorrow off before returning to Doug Kingsmore Stadium to complete their three-game series, Sunday. Both pitching staffs need a day to ice down and regroup after seeing the offenses post a combined 41 runs and split a doubleheader, Friday.
Clemson’s lineup feasted on Jackets’ pitching early, scoring ten runs in the first three innings of Game 1, leading to an 11-4 victory. Right fielder Alden Malthes led off the game with a homer, a harbinger of things to come, giving the Tigers an early advantage and putting Tech on its heels.
Two innings later, Blake Wright launched a three-run homer to put Clemson out front 10-3. The Tigers coasted to victory from there, but it was just the beginning of Wright’s big day.
In the first inning of Game 2, Wright hit a solo shot to left, giving Clemson another early lead and extending his hitting streak to 15 games. Wright added a three-run shot in the third, his 19th of the season, an RBI double in the fifth and an RBI single in the sixth. Having already driven in six runs in the game and nine on the day, the senior third baseman came to the plate in the seventh with the bases full. He was denied the opportunity to do more significant damage when he was hit by a pitch. Even so, the result was another run for the Tigers and Wright’s seventh RBI of the game.
Wright’s heroics weren’t enough, however, as Clemson’s defense faltered in the late innings and Georgia Tech had their way with the Tigers’ bullpen. Trailing 8-3 after six, the Yellow Jackets scored four runs in the seventh, four more in the eighth and three unearned runs in the ninth to claim a come-from-behind victory.
Lucas Mahlstedt (4-0) earned the Game 1 win after allowing just one run in 4.2 innings of relief. Austin Gordon (0-2) didn’t have his best stuff going and suffered the loss in Game 2.
Clemson (35-10, 16-7) and Georgia Tech will close out the series from Doug Kingsmore Stadium at 1 p.m., Sunday.
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
