CLEMSON, SC — TCI takes a look back at Clemson’s Saturday afternoon loss to #6 NC State at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

What happened?

The Tigers (30-16, 12-14 ACC) jumped out to an early lead as Chris Okey hit his ninth homer of the season in the top of the first to give Clemson a 1-0 lead. The Wolfpack (32-13, 13-8 ACC) answered in the second with four runs to take a 4-1 lead. NC State would then explode for seven run in the third and nine runs in the fourth to jump to a 20-1 advantage. Clemson would get two runs back in the fourth before adding two more in the seventh to cut the deficit to 20-5. The Tigers would add four runs in the ninth but the Wolfpack were able to even the series with a 20-9 win.

Game-Changing Moment:

The game changed in the third and fourth innings as NC State scored 16 runs on 16 hits against five Clemson pitchers to blow open the game.

What went right?

Eli White, Weston Wilson, and Chris Williams each had two hits to pace a 13-hit attack. Mike Triller, Okey, and Williams all homered and again the Tigers drew more walks (7) than strikeouts (4). Garrett Lovorn had his best outing at Clemson, tossing 5.0 scoreless innings of two-hit ball.

What went wrong?

To quickly sum it up, the third and fourth innings. Starter Ryley Gilliam allowed six runs on five hits in 2.0+ innings. Alex Schnell struggled with five runs on five hits in 0.2 innings and Mike Goren also allowed six runs on three hits and three walks in 0.2 innings. Defensively, the Tigers also committed two errors.