By Trey McCurry.

Trey McCurry

CLEMSON — Here is a look back at Clemson’s 5-3 & 6-0 wins over Wright State on Saturday.

What happened?

Game 1: Steve Wilkerson went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI to leads the Tigers to a win.
Game 2: Five Tiger pitchers took advantage of timely hitting and four double plays to shut down Wright State.

Game-Changing Moment:

Game 1: Wilkerson’s solo HR to right-center gave Clemson a 2-1 lead that they would never relinquish.
Game 2: The Tigers used a two-run third inning to extend their lead to 3-0 and never look back.

Story Line:

Game 1: Despite being out-hit 10-7, the Tigers made their hits count and used some quality pitching to hold on for win.
Game 2: The big news in the second game was the pressure the Raiders put on Clemson as six leadoff batters reached base and 19 batters in all. The Tiger defense came up huge with four double plays to earn the shutout.

Turning Point:

Game 1: The turning point of game one was adding two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Guys who reached base via back-to-back leadoff walks to start the inning scored both of the runs.
Game 2: Freshman Clate Schmidt pitched out of bases loaded jams in both the second and third innings to keep Wright State off the board and allow Clemson to earn their second shutout of the season.

What went right?

Clemson used timely hitting and took advantage of free base runners (courtesy of walks and errors) to score early runs in both games. The defense was strong all day committing only one error in the two games and turned four double plays in game two. The pitching staff also had a strong day as eight pitchers combined to allow just three earned runs in 18.0 innings.

What went wrong?

The Tigers had a couple of base running blunders with three guys caught stealing, a pickoff at first, and a guy thrown out at the plate. The pitching staff, while solid on the day, walked seven guys and hit six others to give the Raiders too many free passes.

They said it.
Clemson Head Coach Jack Leggett
“Wilkerson is feeling really good at the plate right now and has a real good focus on what he is doing. He is very confident and hopefully we can keep him in that zone.”
“We got some timely hits and guys up and down the order all contributed and I thought we were aggressive. We made some mistakes on the bases, but we were aggressive and we caused some problems too.”
Clemson Junior Second Baseman Steve Wilkerson

“I guess I am seeing the ball pretty well. I’m just trying to stay within myself and not put any added pressure on myself by hitting in the three-spot in the lineup.”

“The top of our lineup started hitting a little bit and people started feeling more comfortable up there. Once the top of the lineup gets going, then everyone else feeds off that.”