On a beautiful Friday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium Wright State defeated Clemson 6-4 on Opening Day. It was the first game of a three-game series between the Wright State Raiders and the Clemson Tigers.

After the game head coach Monte Lee, sophomore Seth Beer, sophomore Grayson Byrd and freshman Logan Davidson spoke to the media in the post-game press conference. Here is what we heard:

“We just couldn’t come up with that big hit with runners on base,” Lee said. “We had our opportunities and they did. If you look at the at-bats, we had more quality at-bats than they did. We won in the free department. Had nine walks tonight, but the bottom line is we have to be able to do the little things.”

Clemson had several bunts that were not executed properly and also missed a safety squeeze in the second inning.

“We just have to execute. I think that’s the bottom line,” Lee said. “We did a really good job of getting runners on base. We did a really good job of throwing strikes. I don’t think we walked but two batters tonight. So I’m very proud of our pitching staff for pounding the strike zone.

“Defensively we played a pretty solid ballgame. A lot of positives but the big thing for us is we just have to do a little better job when it comes to getting a bunt down and we have to be able to hit with runners in scoring position.”

Beer went 1-for-2 with a double and also reached on two walks. He started at first base tonight which is a position he has had to adjust getting used to.

“I’ve taken many, many reps over the course of the fall and early spring so I wasn’t even really thinking about it,” he said. “I was just trying to do what I know. Coach (Bradley) LeCroy has been working with me so hard and Rudy Cox has been a mentor to me. So I just kind of went out there and played the game, not even really thinking about the pick. I was just thinking about the play itself.”

Clemson’s middle infield was led by new Tigers with Davidson starting at shortstop and Byrd starting at second base. After the game both guys talked about how special this day was to them.

“It was a pretty special day. A pretty amazing feeling to come out here with a great group of guys especially with such a big fan base. It was a pretty incredible feeling,” Davidson said.

Davidson went 2-for-3, had two RBIs and also scored twice. Byrd went 3-for-4 with one RBI.

“Yeah for me it was awesome,” Byrd said. “My first college game in about two years so for me to just to get back out there and be healthy and enjoy competing with a bunch of brothers, a bunch of friends, seeing all the orange and purple out there and all the fans, it was an awesome experience.”

Pat Krall will be taking the mound today for the Tigers in Game 2 of the series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium at 2 pm.

“We got an All-American going tomorrow in Pat Krall and there’s a reason he’s pitching on Saturday,” Lee said. “Because if you want to win a series after winning on Friday night you have to deal with Pat Krall. And if you happen to drop a game on Friday night you have to deal with Pat Krall to get you right back into the series so we’re very, very confident in Pat and I know that we’ll come out (Saturday) ready to go.”