CLEMSON, S.C. - Senior lefthander Michael Sharman allowed just three hits and no earned runs with eight strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched to lead No. 10 Clemson to a 6-4 victory over La Salle in the first game of a doubleheader at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers, who took a 2-0 lead in the series and won their fifth game in a row, improved to 13-1, while the Explorers dropped to 8-4.
Sharman (4-0) earned the win, as he did not walk a batter and registered eight strikeouts. Danny Nelson pitched 2.0 innings to record his second save of the year. La Salle starter Jace Terry (0-1) suffered the loss, as he surrendered six hits, four runs and four walks with one strikeout in 5.0 innings pitched.
In the first inning, a run scored on Nate Savoie’s groundball, then the Tigers scored two runs in the third inning, highlighted by Luke Gaffney’s run-scoring double. After Clemson scored a run in the fifth inning to take a 4-0 lead, the Explorers took advantage of two errors to score two runs in the top of the sixth inning.
Jay Dillard responded with a two-out double to score a run in the bottom of the sixth inning. In the top of the eighth inning, the Explorers plated two runs after an error to narrow Clemson’s lead to 5-4. Dillard answered with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning to double the Tiger lead.
