No. 16 Clemson dominates offensively in 15-4 win over Virginia Tech

By Raza Umerani

Staff Writer

May 12, 2023

BLACKSBURG - Through four innings, Hokies starter Drue Hackenberg was dealing against the Clemson lineup. With a 4-1 lead, the star right-hander was in a great position to notch another quality start in what was likely his final game at English Field. What followed was a mightily impressive offensive stretch that saw the road team score eight runs on nine hits in ⅔ of an inning to blow the game open, and it never looked back.

No. 16 Clemson (33-17, 15-10 ACC) continued the offensive onslaught for the remainder of the game for a dominant 15-4 victory over Virginia Tech (29-17, 11-13). The Tigers ended the game scoring a whopping 14 unanswered runs – all from the fifth to eighth innings – racking up 20 hits along the way.

“We didn’t make pitches. We didn’t play defense,” Tech head coach John Szefc said to reporters after the game. “Give them credit, that’s a really good team. … They got 20 hits. I mean, you’re never going to come close to [winning] a game giving up 20 hits.”

Clemson opened the scoring with a two-out solo home run off the bat of left fielder Will Taylor in the first inning, but the Hokies bounced back immediately with a three-run frame punctuated by a two-run homer from left fielder Carson Jones – his 12th home run of the season. 

“It felt great jumping on him early,” Jones said. “I was looking for a pitch middle away, and I got it and put a good swing on it. It felt good to start off the game in a good spot.”

Both Hackenberg and the Tigers’ pitching staff held things down until the bottom of the fourth, when a walk from third baseman David Bryant and a single from first baseman Garrett Michel put runners on the corners, allowing Bryant to score on a wild pitch and make it a 4-1 ballgame.

By the end of the fourth inning, Hackenberg had given up just four hits while racking up four strikeouts without walking a batter, relinquishing just one run. 

Then came the fifth, where Clemson’s offense came to life. After leading off the inning with back-to-back singles and a sacrifice bunt, a two-run double from center fielder Cam Cannarella cut the Hokies lead to one. After Hackenberg picked up the second out of the inning on a groundout, the Tigers refused to make the final out. Taylor tied the game at four with an RBI single before another single and a two-strike, two-run double from designated hitter Billy Amick gave Clemson its first lead since the first inning. A double from second baseman Riley Bertram brought him home, and Bertram was batted in off an RBI single from third baseman Blake Wright. Shortstop Benjamin Blackwell capped things off with yet another RBI single to knock Hackenberg out of the game before right fielder Jack Crighton struck out to mercifully end the inning.

“It’s frustrating when you can’t get anybody out," Szefc said. “They put together really great at bats.”

In total, Clemson plated eight runs in the frame on nine hits in the frame, including six consecutive two-out knocks. Seven of the eight runs were earned, and they were all charged to Hackenberg, who ended the day with eight earned runs allowed on 13 hits in 4​​⅔ innings pitched.

“A big part of baseball is energy,” Hokies shortstop Clay Grady said. “I feel like we lost some energy when they started stringing together some hits and we started making some smaller mental mistakes.”

While Tech’s offense was unable to score for the remainder of the contest with just three base hits in the final five innings, Clemson’s lineup kept on raking. Cannarella hit a solo home run on a moonshot to left field in the sixth, some timely knocks and shoddy defense from the Hokies plated three more runs in the seventh, and RBI knocks from Amick and Bertram scored two more in the eighth to make it 15-4. Three outs later, the Tigers secured the victory in the first game of a pivotal series for the Hokies, who continue to fight for a postseason bid.

“It’s not really about the RPI,” Szefc said. “It’s just a matter of trying to separate an awful Friday from what, hopefully, is a good Saturday. It has zero to do with the RPI. It’s always just been about winning a game and winning a series.”

Virginia Tech will look to even the series on Saturday night at 7 p.m. before its final home game of the season on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.

“I feel like we’ll be fine,” Grady said. “I feel like we’re in a good spot for the rest of the weekend. Losing on Friday isn’t the best, but there’s two more games. We’ve got to win them. They’re really important games. We’ve been playing good baseball the last couple of weekends, so that’s what’s going to keep us going.”