ATLANTA — Reed Rohlman hit a grand slam and a three-run home run as Clemson put the game away early with 13 runs in the first three innings on Sunday as the fifth-ranked Tigers defeated Georgia Tech 13-6 at Russ Chandler Stadium to win the the three-game series.
“Krall was really, really good for us today. We hit out of our minds the first three innings of the game,” Clemson head coach Monte Lee said afterwards.
Rohlman’s seven RBI performance was the most for a Tiger since 2010. Rohlman finished the day with three hits as he also had a double. Clemson had 14 hits overall.
“Reed Rohlman had a huge day for us. A number of guys hit the ball really, really well,” said Lee.
Pat Krall got the start for the Tigers and moved to 5-0 on the season. Krall pitched 5 2/3 innings, while giving up two runs on six hits. Both runs were earned.
Ryan Miller relieved Krall and went an inning and a third, giving up one hit. Mitchell Miller came in to pitch the eighth and went two thirds of an inning and gave up four runs on four hits. Jacob Hennessy came in to relieve Miller and Ryley Gilliam came on to get the final out for the Tigers.
The Tigers jumped on the Jackets in the first. With one out Rohlman and Seth Beer walked. Chris Williams then singled to left scoring Rohlman for the game’s first run. Logan Davidson then doubled to left to score Beer, and Andrew Cox hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Williams.
Clemson led 3-0 after the top of the first.
In the second inning, after Georgia Tech scored a run in the bottom of the first, Jordan Greene led off the second by beating out a double. Grayson Byrd singled to advance Greene to third and Chase Pinder walked to load the bases before Rohlman hit a grand slam. It was his sixth home run of his career and the first that was not a solo home run.
Seth Beer followed Rohlman’s grand slam with a double to left center field. Then Williams hit his seventh home run of the season to left field.
Next up was Logan Davidson who hit a bomb to right center field for a 10-1 lead. In all, Clemson brought 10 batters to the plate in the second inning and the first seven scored.
However, Rohlman’s day wasn’t done. In the third inning, after Byrd walked and Pinder was hit by a pitch, he hit a bomb over the right field wall to make it 13-1 Tigers.
The Jackets added another run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 13-2, and then four more in the eighth for the final score.
Clemson moved to 24-5 on the season and 10-2 in the ACC. The Tigers travel to Georgia on Tuesday where they look to remain undefeated this season in mid-week games. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.