Clemson clobbers Stanford 9-3 in series opener, Knaak fans seven for first W of season (AUDIO)

Clemson 9 – Stanford 3 Game Summary

• Clemson opened its west coast swing with a dominant 9-3 victory over Stanford in Palo Alto, Ca., Friday.
• Ty Dalley drove in the Tigers’ first two runs of the game with RBI singles in the second and fourth innings.
• Tryston McCladdie broke the game open with a two-run single in the top of the sixth that put Clemson ahead 6-1.
• Stanford fought back with a two-run homer in the home half of the sixth from Cort MacDonald that chased Tigers starter Aidan Knaak (W, 1-3). Knaak pitched well enough to earn his first win of the season, however, holding the Cardinal to three runs (two earned) on five hits with seven strikeouts in five innings.
• Hayden Simmerson relieved Knaak and retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced to lower his ERA to 2.65 and pick up his second save.
• Clemson capped the scoring with a three-run eighth that featured two hits, two walks and two hit batsmen. The Tigers plated nine runs despite being held to just one extra-base hit, Jason Fultz, Jr.’s sixth-inning double.
• The bottom of the Tigers’ order did significant damage as Fultz, Jr., Dalley and Tyler Lichtenberger, the 7-8-9 hitters, combined for five hits, three walks and five runs scored.
• It was a much-needed win for the Tigers after dropping seven of their previous eight games. Clemson (20-11, 3-7) will square off with Stanford in Game 2 of the series at 5:05 p.m. Eastern, Saturday.

Postgame comments from Erik Bakich, Aidan Knaak
and Hayden Simmerson

Final Stats