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CLEMSON, SC - That was one of the weirdest games I've ever witnessed! When Collin Priest crushed a 3-run HR in the first inning to open the scoring and chase the starting pitcher out of the game, it looked like the Tigers might run-rule Stanford again, like they did 11-1 in 7 innings the night before. However, things got bizarre after that. In the top of the 2nd, Stanford scored 5 runs, all with 2 outs, and chased Ethan Darden out of the game. 3 of the runs came after Wentworth somehow lost an easy pop fly to shallow right that would have ended the inning with a 3-2 Clemson lead. And that was only half of it! The Tigers responded with 5 runs in the bottom half of the inning, including a double by Priest, to take an 8-5 lead, but Stanford would score 5 runs in the next two innings to retake the lead 10-8. Of their 10 runs, 9 of them were scored with 2 outs, and 8 of them came after errors by the Tigers that would have ended the inning!
The Tigers went through 5 pitchers in the first 4 innings until Garris came in from the pen and finally put up some zeros. Paino led off the 5th inning with a HR, followed by a double by Ciufo and a single by Listi to tie the game. The next inning, Jarrell hit a leadoff HR that would prove to be the game-winner. It was his second homer of the weekend and 4th in the last 3 games! Coser Lucas Mahlstedt came in to start the 7th and delivered three scoreless inning, but it wasn't without drama. He had runners at the corners with no outs in the 7th but got out of the jam with a couple of huge strikeouts to preserve the one-run lead. He struck out the leadoff man in the 9th and retired the next batter, but Stanford got the tying run to second with the go-ahead run on first. Mahlstedt handled the pressure once again, getting a grounder to first to end the game and clinch the series. There was at least one run scored in each of the first 6 innings and none scored in the final 3!
The Tigers have won 8 straight and have won all 5 of their ACC series, sitting atop of the ACC standings. They will go for the sweep on Sunday at 3:00, as BJ Bailey makes his third Sunday start in a row and first career home start.
Post-game interviews are below!
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