#13 Clemson Hits Way to 7-4 Win Over Furman
Clemson, S.C.-- Clemson had 15 hits, including five for extra bases, as the Tigers handed Furman a 7-4 loss at Doug Kingsmore Stadium Wednesday afternoon.
The Tigers scored in each of the first three innings to build a 6-0 lead over the Paladins. Jeff Baker, who played third base on Wednesday, had a base hit in the bottom of the first inning to score Casey Stone, who received a free pass with a walk two batters earlier. Clemson then added three runs in the second inning thanks to a two-run homer by designated hitter Michael Johnson and doubles by catcher Seth Miller and Casey Stone.
In the third inning Baker doubled to start the inning and was batted in by Kyle Frank who also doubled two batters latter. First baseman Jarrod Schmidt singled to knock in Frank.
Stone and Schmidt each finished the day 3-for-4 and one run scored. Johnson was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Five Tiger batters had multiple hits as Clemson won its 27th game in a row against Furman in a series that dates back to 1896 when the two teams meet in Clemson's first ever baseball game.
Furman scored two runs in each of the fourth and sixth innings. Shortstop Danny Rueckel was 2-for-3 with one RBI and second baseman Adam Etherington was 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
Clemson received a great effort from freshman right-handed pitcher Steven Jackson (1-0), who went 6.0 innings allowing just four runs, two of which were earned. He also had seven strikeouts in picking up his first career win at Clemson. Jackson was relieved by Matt Henrie and Josh Cram, who picked up the save.
For Furman, Rusty Putnam (0-1) pitched 2.1 innings allowing six earned runs and eight hits, while only striking out one. He was relieved by Jeff Stovall, who pitched 3.1 innings and allowed only one earned run.
The Tigers improved to 6-3 on the year, while the Paladins fall to 10-4.
Furman returns to action on Friday at Furman Baseball Stadium to begin a three game seried with the Ohio Bobcats. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00.