Instant Replay: No. 11 Georgia Tech 8, Clemson 7
By: trey-mccurry April 27, 2019

The Clemson Insider looks back at Clemson’s 8-7 loss at No. 11 Georgia Tech on Friday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.

 

What happened?
The Yellow Jackets (29-13, 14-8 ACC) struck first scoring two runs, without the benefit of a hit, in the bottom of the first inning. The Tigers (26-17, 11-11 ACC) cut the lead in half in the second on a solo homer by Bryar Hawkins and tied the game at 2-2 in the third on a two-out RBI double by Logan Davidson. Georgia Tech would take a 3-2 lead in the fourth with a sac fly and extend the lead to 5-2 in the fifth as two leadoff walks came around to score. Kyle Wilkie hit a 423-foot homer off the top of the batter’s eye to start the sixth and Jordan Greene would follow with a RBI double in the sixth to bring Clemson within 5-4. The Jackets would plate three runs in the seventh on a solo homer, RBI double, and bases loaded walk to stretch their lead back to 8-4. The Tigers chipped away in the eighth with another solo homer by Bryar Hawkins and got to within 8-7 in the ninth on a two-run homer from Davidson, but could get no closer as they lost their eighth straight ACC contest.

Game-Changing Moment:
Two of the biggest moments came in the fourth and seventh innings. In the fourth inning, Wilkie led off with a double and moved to third on a Bryar Hawkins single but two strikeouts and a flyout ended the inning without a run coming across for Clemson. In the seventh inning, the first two batters reached via walks (on eight total pitches), but again a run did not come in for the Tigers as a caught stealing, fielders choice, and strikeout ended the inning.

What went right?
The Clemson offense produced seven runs on 13 hits, including four doubles and four homers. Bryar Hawkins was 4-for-5 while Davidson, Grayson Byrd, Wilkie, and Greene each had two hits. Davidson drove in a game-high three runs while Bryar Hawkins also had two RBI. Sam Weatherly (0 ER, 1 hit, 1.2 IP) and Travis Marr (0 ER, 0 hits, 1.1 IP) both pitched well for the Tigers.

What went wrong?
Despite only allowing seven hits, the Clemson pitching staff struggled with command as they allowed nine walks and a HBP against only seven strikeouts in the game. While the offense had a good day, the still struggled in some key situations with getting runners in and had some mistakes on the base path with two caught stealing and a runner gunned down at the plate.