Four pitchers combine for shutout as Tigers are dominant in season opener |
CLEMSON – Four pitchers combined to allow just three hits and
Caden Grice had three hits as Clemson defeated Indiana 9-0 Friday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in the season opener for both teams.
Starter Mack Anglin pitched five stellar innings, striking out eight and walking just two without allowing a hit. He threw 55 strikes in his 82 pitches. Ty Olenchuk followed Anglin’s performance with two scoreless innings, giving up three hits and walking one. Billy Barlow and Alex Edmondson each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the game. Grice had three hits and scored three times while Cooper Ingle had two hits and drove in two runs. Benjamin Blackwell homered and drove in two in his first appearance as a Tiger. Clemson managed to draw eight walks but also struck out 17 times, including five from Bryar Hawkins. "A great opening day for us. First and foremost, I want to thank all of the fans that came to support us today. We had a great crowd and great energy in the ballpark. It was awesome to have that presence and energy in the stadium for our players," head coach Monte Lee said. "I have to start with Mack Anglin, who did an outstanding job. He pounded the strike zone and got to strike one, executed all three pitchers. Really proud of our bullpen. Ty came in behind him and did an outstanding job of pitching out of some jams. He was able to finish his innings without giving up anything. And then Barlow, the true freshman, and then Edmo (Edmondson), even in a 9-0 game, he came in to close the game out. He looked sharp. That is a testament to Coach (Andrew) See and how much better these guys are "Offensively, we jumped on them early and threw up the big inning in the first inning. Then Ben Blackwell hit the home run to keep the good momentum going on our side. And then we scored a couple of runs later in the game via the free 90, but I feel like we need to be a little bit better the third or fourth time through the order when they bring in relievers that can spin it a little bit. We have to do a better job of laying off offspeed pitches out of the zone. I feel like we swung out of the zone too much." The Tigers jumped all over Indiana starter John-Biagio Modugno, scoring three runs on five hits in the bottom of the first. Leadoff hitter Dylan Brewer slapped a single through the left side to lead off the inning, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on Cooper Ingle’s single to right. With one out Grice singled to center, and Chad Fairley then laced a single to right to score Ingle and move Grice to third. Another single to right, this one off the bat of Blake Wright, scored Grice for a 3-0 lead. Blackwell, a transfer from Dayton, hit the first pitch he saw as a Tiger over the wall in left-center for a 4-0 lead through two innings. The Tigers added two more in the fourth. Jonathan French was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, moved to second on a wild pitch, and then moved to third when a wild ball four got away from the catcher on JD Brock’s walk. That brought up Blackwell, who bunted back to Modugno. Modugno fell down fielding the bunt, and all runners were safe on the error, with French scoring for a 5-0 lead. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch and Ingle laced a sacrifice fly down the left field line for a 6-0 lead through four innings. The Tigers added two runs in the bottom of the seventh on just one hit, despite striking out three times in the inning. Grice led off the inning with a single off the pitcher, and four walks and three strikeouts later the Tigers had an 8-0 lead. Clemson added a solo run in the eighth. Grice struck out to lead off the inning but reached first on a passed ball. He then moved to second on a passed ball, and after two more strikeouts, pinch-hitter Tyler Corbitt reached on a throwing error, allowing Grice to score from third and a 9-0 lead. The teams return to action Saturday for game two of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m., with righty Jack Perkins of Indiana facing off against right-hander Nick Clayton of Clemson. The finale of the three-game series is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. Double play to preserve the shutout! ??? Have an Opening Day, @Mack_Anglin5! First pitch seen as a Tiger = first home run as a Tiger.#BenjaminBlackwell ?? ?? ??
M7 || IND 0, CU 6
?? https://t.co/GSF3kNQgBU pic.twitter.com/80QjglKIbV
5.0 IP
0 H
0 R
2 BB
8 K
E5 || IND 0, CU 6
?? https://t.co/GSF3kNQgBU pic.twitter.com/zwQ2b3st1r
B2 || IND 0, CU 4
?? https://t.co/F6ccmaFYNT pic.twitter.com/cICyVwHzkJ
First DUB of the season! ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/R9jq6Xlmcq
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) February 19, 2022
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