The Clemson Insider takes a look back at Clemson’s 6-1 win over James Madison in the first game of their series on Friday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

What happened?

The Tigers took an early lead thanks to the bat of Chris Okey, who led off the bottom of the second inning with a solo homer to straight away centerfield. Clemson would extend their lead to 2-0 in the fourth inning as Seth Beer led off with a double and would come in to score on a two-out wild pitch. The Tigers added another run in the fifth as Chase Pinder led off the frame with a solo homer to make the score 3-0. After the Dukes scored a run in the top of the sixth, Clemson put the game away in the bottom of the inning thanks to a three-run homer from Pinder. Alex Eubanks would close it out the rest of the way as the Tigers picked up a 6-1 win.

Game-Changing Moment:

The game changed in the sixth inning. Trailing 3-0, James Madison had runners on second and third with no outs but Clemson starter Charlie Barnes pitched out of the jam and only allowed a single run. In the bottom of the inning, Pinder’s blast into the left-field bleachers extended the lead to five and the Tigers would never look back.

What went right?

Barnes and Eubanks again each had solid nights on the mound. Barnes picked up his first win of the season by tossing 6.0 innings of one-run, two-hit ball with three walks and seven strikeouts while Eubanks earned his first save with 3.0 shutout innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts. Pinder led the offensive attack with a game-high two hits and game-high four RBI while seven other players recorded a single hit.

What went wrong?

The Tigers committed two errors in the game, but neither came back to haunt the team as Barnes was able to pitch around each of them. Outside of that, Clemson played a pretty complete game to start the series.