In Friday’s season-opening loss to Wright State, Clemson’s Seth Beer uncharacteristically chased a pitch out of the strike zone for a called third strike with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning. Beer’s missed opportunity came back to hurt the Tigers in the next inning as the Raiders pushed across the go-ahead and ultimately the winning run.
After the game, Beer said, “It is something that if I am ever in that situation again, I can learn from that, stay within my zone and hopefully get the job done then.”
Beer is obviously a quick learner. In Game 2 of the three-game series, he took a 3-1 pitch from starter Zane Collins and drilled it to straight away centerfield. The sophomores’ first home run of the season gave the 10th-ranked Tigers a four-run lead at the time as Clemson went on to a 6-2 victory at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
“It kind of learned from the strikeout from yesterday and was kind of stressing too much and trying to do too much,” Beer said. “I went up there a little more relaxed and a little more confident and it helped being in a situation like that before.
“I got a good pitch to hit and I hit it well.”
Beer finished the game scoring two runs in three official at-bats.
“He was Seth Beer today in kind of how he took what they gave him,” Clemson head coach Monte Lee said. “He was patient at the plate and he looked for a good pitch to hit and he got himself in a really good count and a 3-1 count, and he drilled it.
“I thought overall, Seth’s at-bats today where really, really good. He scored two runs, drove in three and had two walks. That is a pretty productive day at the plate. Overall, it was good to see him stay in the strike zone and stay within himself. He stepped up big when we needed him for that big inning. That was a big blow.”
Pat Krall got the win on the mound for the Tigers. The senior went six innings in just his fourth career-game as a starter, limiting the Raiders to one run off two hits. He had six strikeouts and three walks, while throwing 89 pitches.
Krall started the game by getting Raiders’ lead-off hitter Matt Morrow to pop up on the first pitch and then he got back-to-back strikeouts to end the Wright State inning.
“That first pitch, when he popped up, it kind of settled me in,” Krall said. “I was not expecting him to go first pitch, but to get that first out, out of the way kind of settled me down. I made a few mistakes today. I was not as sharp as I would like to be, but getting those first few outs really helped settle me in and helped me relax.”
The Clemson pitching staff finished the night with 11 strikeouts overall to just three walks. Brooks Crawford and Ryley Gilliam followed Krall. Gilliam had four strikeouts in two innings of work.
“I thought he was dominant,” Lee said. “It was great to see Ryley Gilliam throw so well out of the bullpen.”
Clemson took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after Weston Jackson grounded out to second base, scoring Chase Pinder, who reached on a throwing error from Marrow that got him to second. Pinder then moved to third base on a throwing error from Collins, setting up Jackson’s RBI a few moments later.
Clemson extended its lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the third inning as Beer hit a liner to straight away centerfield for his three-run homer. The home run scored K.J. Bryant, who started the inning with a walk, and Pinder, who successfully hit the ball to left field with no outs. Beer then stepped to the plate and launched his bomb to center.
After Wright State closed the Clemson lead to two runs with a run in the fifth and a run in the seventh innings, the Tigers bounced back with two of their own in the bottom of the seventh. Logan Davidson, who had two RBIs on Friday, drove in Beer with a single to right field to make the score 5-2.
Later in the inning Weston Jackson made the score 6-2 when he scored on a Grayson Byrd fielder’s choice.
The rubber match of the three-game series will be on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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