Instant Replay: Pepperdine 10 Clemson 8
By: clemson May 31, 2015

By Trey McCurry.

FULLERTON, CA — TCI takes a look back at Clemson’s (32-29) 10-8, season-ending loss to Pepperdine (31-28) in an elimination game at the Fullerton Regional held at Goodwin Field.

 

 

 

What happened?

The Waves jumped out to an early lead with three first inning runs and a single run in the second inning. Pepperdine plated three more runs in the sixth to take a 7-0 lead before the Tigers mounted a rally. In the bottom of the sixth, Steven Duggar led off with a single and Tyler Krieger doubled to advance Duggar to third. Reed Rohlman advanced both runners on a groundout to second to cut the Waves lead to 7-1. Robert Jolly would follow with a two-out RBI single to cut the deficit to 7-2. In the seventh, Clemson scored six runs on six hits to take a 8-7 lead. Andrew Cox led off with a single and advanced to third on a double by Eli White. Following a walk to Duggar, Krieger singled through the right side to score two and put runners on the corners. Following a groundout that moved Krieger to second, Chris Okey singled through the left side to score two more and cut the Pepperdine lead to 7-6. Jolly singled to put two runners on and Tyler Slaton hit a two-run triple to put the Tigers on top. The Waves would answer with a run in the eighth to tie the game before scoring two runs in the ninth to end Clemson’s season with a 10-8 loss.

Game-Changing Moment:

Following the Tigers comeback, the game changed in the late innings as the bullpen was unable to hold the lead and Pepperdine scored three runs in their final two at-bats while the offense could not find their seventh inning magic.

What went right?

Despite trailing 7-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, Clemson did not quit as they scored eight runs in two innings to take a brief lead. Jolly led the Tigers 12-hit attack with three hits while four players (White, Krieger, Jolly, and Slaton) each had multi-hit games. Krieger, Okey, and Slaton each had two RBI while Rohlman and Jolly each drove in a run. 

What went wrong?

Clemson starter Zack Erwin struggled early, allowing four runs in the first two innings, but battled for 5.1 innings. The bullpen was unable to keep the lead as four relievers combined to allow three runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings. Defensively, the Tigers committed three costly errors and the offense was unable to build any innings early before coming alive late.