Baseball
SULLY RETURNS TO DOUG KINGSMORE, NON.6 CLEMSON LOSES SUPER REGIONAL OPENER 10-7 TO FLORIDA
- 2024-06-09 13:36:38
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CLEMSON, SC - The highly anticipated return of Kevin O'Sullivan, the former Clemson coach mate of Erik Bakich under Leggett, to Doug Kingsmore Stadium resulted in the Tigers' first loss of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers had all the mojo they could have hoped for early, leading 3-0 early, but the game completely turned in the 5th, when the peaking Gators, who upset Oklahoma State in Stillwater last week, scored 7 runs to take a 9-4 lead. It all started with a 3-run HR by All-American Jac Caglianone, the two-way top-5 MLB Draft prospect, who will be the starting pitcher on Sunday. I actually predicted the homer because of the nightmare situation in which the Tigers found themselves. It was runners at the corners with no outs, and the Tigers could not afford to load the bases, so they fell into the trap of giving the slugger, who set the modern NCAA HR record last season, a fat pitch for his 32nd of the season. That gave the Gators their first lead of the game, and they tacked on 4 more runs in the inning.
The Tigers chipped away at the lead with a couple solo HR's by Obertop and Bissetta, but weren't able to overcome the deficit despite their 25 comeback wins this season. The one silver lining for the Tigers is that freshman Jacob McGovern was fabulous in relief, allowing Bakich to save their bullpen, especially closer Austin Gordon, who had a win and two saves last weekend in the Regional.
It will be interesting to see if Will Taylor makes his return at DH tomorrow after missing the last month and a half with an injured wrist. He just got the cast off a couple weeks ago, though, so who knows how he's been swinging the bat and if his timing is off. With Jarrell struggling at the plate yesterday, we'll probably see freshman Nolan Nawrocki at DH if it's not Taylor. If Taylor doesn't start, I wouldn't be surprised to see him pinch hit late if the Tigers are behind again like yesterday.
Freshman All-ACC First-Teamer Aidan Knaak will be on the mound for the Tigers on Sunday with his nasty changeup. He pitched well last week but wasn't as dominant as previous outings. He was on 2 weeks rest, though, and I think that it took him a while to find his groove. The same thing happened the previous time he was on 2 weeks rest at Wake a month ago.
Post-game interviews are below!
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