Clemson struggled to move the bats in a home contest with No. 4 Georgia on Tuesday in Doug Kingsmore Stadium and fell 4-2 to the Bulldogs.

The Tigers finished the day with just four hits on the afternoon with their only run coming via the long ball off the bat of freshman Davis Sharpe and a pair of errors defensively.

Georgia junior right-hander Tim Elliot started the game for the Bulldogs and pitched 7.1 innings, surrendering one run, allowing just three hits and striking out seven without a walk.

Brooks Crawford started in the midweek for the second week in a row after some time off due to injury and did not get off to the best start. He surrendered four runs, two earned runs, on four hits while striking out two, walking two and a hit by pitch in a short 3.2 innings on the mound.

Clemson head coach Monte Lee gave a lot of credit to Elliot and his production on the mound in the midweek that is uncharacteristic of a typical Tuesday starter.

“That is a heck of a ball team and I give a lot of credit to Elliot, he was outstanding and made some big pitches when he needed to,” Lee said. “He was dang good and that’s what his numbers indicated,” he said.

In the top of the first Georgia (24-5) jumped out on top with a pair of runs thanks to an Aaron Schnuck home run to right field to put it up 2-0. It was the eighth long ball surrendered by Crawford in just 23.2 innings of work on the season.

The Bulldogs extended their lead in the top of the fourth with a two run double with two outs by Cam Shepherd. The double scored Chaney Rogers and Shane Marshall to give Georgia a 4-0 lead after three and a half innings.

Clemson finally showed a sign of life in the bottom of the fifth inning when Davis Sharpe hit a solo home run to left field that put it on the board and cut the Georgia lead to 4-1. Prior to the home run, the Tigers had only totaled one hit on the afternoon. The home run came with two outs and gave Clemson a little momentum heading into the sixth inning.

The Tigers continued to chip away at the three-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth after Sharpe led off the inning with a single and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Greene. But, they couldn’t push anymore runs across and entered the ninth down 4-2.

Georgia added another run in the top of the ninth when Aaron Smuck reached first on a fielders choice that scored Tucker Maxwell and extended its lead to 5-2 heading into the final frame.

Logan Davidson gave the Tigers some hope in the final frame with a leadoff double that dropped just inside the chalk in right field. Davidson came home on a ground out by Grayson Byrd to cut the score to 5-3 with two outs but that would be all for Clemson.

While Lee is disappointed with the outcome of Tuesday night’s game he feels his team is better prepared for a crucial division series with Louisville this coming weekend.

“We won’t have any trouble turning the page. I’m disappointed in some things but we competed,” Lee said. “We faced a midweek starter who would be a weekend starter for anybody else and I like the fact that we were tested. I don’t think we could have a better opportunity to prepare us for the weekend,” he said.

Clemson returns to action Friday night at 6 p.m. as it hosts Louisville in a pivotal three-game series in ACC play.