Patrick Raby – Photo By Mark Alexander
Game 1: Vanderbilt 13 St. John’s 4
Clemson, S.C. — Vanderbilt used a big inning and steady offense to beat St. John’s 13-4 in the opening game of the Clemson NCAA Regional on Friday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
The Red Storm (42-12) broke up a 1-1 game in the fifth inning with a pair of two-out runs against Commodores’ (34-22-1) starter Patrick Raby to take a 3-1 lead. But the Dores answered quickly and loudly in the bottom of the inning with the first seven batters of the inning reaching base, including six straight hits. Back-to-back singles from JJ Bleday and Connor Kaiser flipped the lineup over for leadoff hitter Will Toffey, who lifted his ninth home run of the season out to left-center field to put Vandy back in front to stay. Three more singles, including Julian Infante’s RBI-single, chased St. John’s All-American starter Sean Mooney. The Dores tacked on two more runs to hang a six-spot on the scoreboard and take a commanding 7-3 lead.
Game 2: Clemson 5 UNC Greensboro 4
CLEMSON, S.C. – Alex Eubanks tossed 7.2 effective innings to lead No. 15 Clemson to a 5-4 win over UNC Greensboro in Game 2 of the Clemson Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Friday night. The Tigers improved to 40-19, while the Spartans fell to 35-23.
Eubanks (7-5) earned the win by allowing seven hits, three runs and one walk with five strikeouts. Pat Krall pitched the ninth inning to record his first save of the season. Spartan starter Bryce Hensley (7-8) suffered the loss, as he yielded five hits, four runs (three earned) and four walks with three strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched.
