By Trey McCurry.
By Trey McCurry
CLEMSON — Here is a look back at Clemson’s season-opening 2-0 win over William & Mary.
What happened?
The Tigers combined a solid pitching performance and strong defense with timely hitting to win their 2013 season opener. Clemson has now won eight of their last nine opening-day games.
Game-Changing Moment:
The game-changing moment for the Tigers came off the bat of junior-college transfer Shane Kennedy in the bottom of the eighth inning. Kennedy took the first pitch of the at-bat he saw over the fence into the Thomas Chapman Grandstands to break a scoreless tie and give the Tiger pitching staff all the support they would need.
Story Line:
The big news on Opening Day was the pitching of Daniel Gossett and the production from a couple of newcomers at the plate. Gossett, who did not factor in the decision, allowed just four hits, no runs, and one walk against six strikeouts while throwing 76 pitches (60 strikes) in 6.2 innings. The other big news came from Shane Kennedy’s big homer and freshman Steven Duggar going 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and two singles.
Turning Point:
The turning point in this game came just before Kennedy’s homer. With the Tigers struggling at the plate, Steve Wilkerson laid down a two-out bunt down the third base line to keep the inning alive for Clemson. After a brief meeting at the mound, Kennedy stepped into the box and drove his first pitch into the bleachers.
What went right?
Clemson had great efforts by the pitching staff and on defense. The pitchers were throwing strikes (only walking one batter) and letting their defense back them up. Defensively, the Tigers did not commit an error and made several plays in the field to either hold runners to a single base or end a Tribe rally.
What went wrong?
Clemson had too many fly-ball outs and struggled with some offensive execution. We knew coming in that this team would need to use its speed and the Tigers were unable to put enough pressure on William & Mary by making them field grounders and make plays. We have heard that the Tigers wanted to play more small-ball this season and they were unable to get some bunts down today and were not very effective in moving runners and getting the running game going on the base paths.
They said it.
Clemson Head Coach Jack Leggett
“Daniel pitched really well, and we played really good defense. We turned a double play when we had to and made some nice plays. We did everything we had to do pitching and on the defensive side of things.”
“Those two freshman (Krieger and Duggar) are going to be good players for us. They stepped up for us tonight.”
Clemson starter Daniel Gossett
“Kyle Whitman and I actually called it. We said we need a home run right now. It would be huge to see it go out and then it happened.”