Stanford 5 – Clemson 4 Game Summary
- Clemson let a three-run lead slip away late as Stanford evened up the series 5-4, Saturday.
- Both clubs struggled against the opposing starter. Stanford got three scoreless innings out of southpaw Sam Garewal in his longest outing of the season. Clemson left hander Michael Sharman was even better, holding the Cardinal to one run on four hits in seven innings of work.
- The Tigers looked poised to reward Sharman with a win as he turned it over to the bullpen with a 4-1 lead. Clemson built its advantage behind a two-run single from Tyler Lichtenberger in the seventh and a two-run homer from Luke Gaffney in the eighth.
- Stanford ambushed Tigers reliever Dion Brown with a double down the line to spark the rally. After Brown issued a free pass, Clemson head coach Erik Bakich pulled Brown in favor of lefty Justin LeGuernic. LeGuernic didn’t have his good stuff, however, walking Rashad Hayes on four pitches to load the bases for leadoff hitter Rintaro Sasaki. Sasaki trimmed the lead to 4-2 on a sacrifice fly. Two pitches later, Teddy Tokheim doubled into the gap to plate two runs and tie the game at 4-4.
- The Cardinal seized on the momentum, drawing a walk ahead of an RBI single from cleanup hitter JJ Moran that gave Stanford the lead for good.
- Clemson had an opportunity to tie it in the top of the ninth after Lichtenberger doubled and advanced to third on a sacrifice. But Lichtenberger would be stranded there after Tryston McCladdie fanned and Nate Savoie flew out to end the game.
- The Tigers failed to cash in opportunities throughout the game, finishing just 1 of 10 with runners in scoring position. The top four batters in the lineup combined to go 2 for 17 with eight strikeouts.
- Clemson (20-12, 3-8) and Stanford will finish the three-game series from Klein Field at Sunken Diamond on Easter Sunday at 4:05 p.m. Eastern.
