By Will Vandervort.

By Will Vandervort

Garrett Boulware continues to be the man for Clemson when there are runners in scoring position. The sophomore picked up his 22nd and 23rd RBI of the season in leading the Tigers to an 8-4 victory over Duke in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Boulware was 2-for-4 and drove in runs in the first and third innings. The catcher is leading the Tigers with a .380 batting average, in home runs with four and RBIs.

With the win, Clemson, who has won four straight, clinched the three game series against the Blue Devils. Game 3 is expected to start at 4:20 p.m.

The Tigers (15-7, 5-3 ACC) took their first lead in the third inning when Boulware picked up his second RBI of the afternoon with a base hit to left field, scoring Steve Wilkerson for a 3-2 lead. Wilkerson finished the day 2-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI.

Clemson extended its lead to 5-2 in the fourth inning when Tyler Krieger brought home Jay Baum with a hit to center field and later Wilkerson scored Krieger with a double down the left field line with two outs.

Duke (11-12, 2-6) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning when it got two back-to-back two-out hits up the middle from Jordan Betts and Matt Berezo.

Clemson rallied to score a run in the first inning as Boulware singled to right field, plating Steven Duggar, who had reached and gone to second on a poorly thrown ball from Betts at third base.

The Tigers tied the game, 2-2, in the second inning when Thomas Brittle walked, then advanced to second and third on a throwing error from starter Drew Van Orden, who tried to pick Brittle off at first base. Brittle later scored on a wild pitch.

Duke chased Clemson starter Clate Schmidt off in the fourth inning when it again got back-to-back two-out hits to close the gap to 5-4. Schmidt finished the afternoon allowing four earned runs on nine hits. He had three strikeouts and one walk.

Baum picked up the Tigers’ sixth run of the afternoon with a single through the left side, which scored Shane Kennedy. Then Tyler Slaton drove a ball through the right side of the infield with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to score the game’s final two runs of the afternoon.

Zack Irwin, who replaced Schmidt in the fourth, picked up his second straight conference win after he allowed only three hits and no runs in 4.1 innings of work. He had three strikeouts.