“Mama said there’ll be days like this …,” lyrics from a 1961 song by the The Shirelles, reminds us that you can expect rough patches, but better times lie ahead. In Clemson’s case, however, it wasn’t a bad day but a disastrous weekend in Raleigh, NC, capped off with a 4-1 loss to NC State, Sunday.
What was expected to be a showdown between two ranked ACC clubs turned into a showcase for the streaking Wolfpack, who completed the first sweep of Clemson this season. The Tigers struggled to get their bats going again, Sunday, registering just five hits and one run in the series finale.
Jarren Purify homered in the first inning against lefthander Ryan Marohn (6-2), but that was the extent of the damage the Tigers’ lineup would do against NC State’s starter. The Wolfpack answered back with a run in the home half of the first to knot the game up at 1-1. A pitching duel commenced from there with Clemson starter BJ Bailey (2-2) holding up his end of the bargain for the first five innings. NC State got to Bailey in the sixth, however, scoring the go-ahead runs on Alex Sosa’s two-run homer.
Bailey took the loss despite a good performance, holding the Wolfpack three runs on six hits in 6.1 innings.
No. 2 Clemson (36-10, 13-8) will take a hit in the rankings, but more importantly, the Tigers finds themselves losing ground in the conference race as the contenders enter the backstretch. Clemson has dropped four straight ACC games while no. 25 NC State (30-12, 15-6) has rung up seven wins in a row. Find top North Carolina Sportsbooks with the best promotions if you are interested in getting in on the action.
The Tigers’ string of losses has opened the door for Georgia Tech, UNC and Duke to challenge Clemson for seeding the ACC Tournament next month.
The Tigers are getting a respite from midweek action with five days off before a road trip to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on first-place Florida State. Game 1 between Clemson and the fourth-ranked Seminoles is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m.