No. 8 Tigers Rally To Top No. 13 Cowboys 6-5

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - No. 8 Clemson rallied from a 4-1 deficit to defeat No. 13 Oklahoma State 6-5 in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field in the season opener for both teams on Friday. It was Clemson’s first game in an MLB stadium and first game in a dome.

The Tigers scored first on Jarren Purify’s groundout in the second inning, then Avery Ortiz tied the score with a two-out solo homer in the third inning. After the Cowboys added two more runs in the third inning, Donovan LaSalle belted a solo homer in the fourth inning. In the fifth inning, Dominic Listi and Josh Paino drew bases-loaded walks with two outs to narrow the Cowboy lead to 4-3.

In the top of the sixth inning, back-to-back two-out doubles scored a run for Oklahoma State, then Luke Gaffney laced a two-out, run-scoring double in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the Cowboy lead to 5-4. In the seventh inning, Tristan Bissetta’s groundout scored the tying run, then Josh Paino scored the go-ahead run later in the frame on a wild pitch.

Nathan Dvorsky pitched a perfect seventh inning to earn the win, while Lucas Mahlstedt pitched 2.0 innings to record the save. Noah Wech suffered the loss.

The Tigers play No. 12 Arizona in their second of three games in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown on Saturday at noon EST on FloCollege.