Nightmare in Doug Kingsmore: Clemson falls 12-11 after blowing 8-run lead in the 9th
CLEMSON -- Strange things happen on Friday the 13th. It’s only natural.
A general rule of thumb for baseball is if you leave a game early, you risk missing something. If you had left after the 8th inning of Clemson’s Friday night game against Miami, then you missed everything.
It took 12 innings on Friday the 13th to decide a winner in a wacky, marathon game one of the weekend series where Clemson fell to Miami 12-11.
The Hurricanes scored the go-ahead run after Freddy Zamora hit a bloop single over Jordan Greene’s head to score Kam Lane from second after his double.
“Obviously it's very tough. It’s tough right now to really put into words how I feel,” head coach Monte Lee said as he was speechless after the loss. “This loss is on me. Wish I could have put my team in a better position to win the ballgame.”
The Tigers had the tying and winning run on base in the bottom of the 12th but weren’t able to bring any in after Kier Meredith hit into a game-ending double play. It took a second for Miami players to realize what they just did.
Shock ensued on both sides as an afternoon of Clemson baseball that looked like a dream ended in some sort of Elm Street nightmare.
The Tigers were cruising after a 5-run 8th inning gave them an 11-3 lead and fans happily headed towards the exits of Doug Kingsmore Stadium ready to begin Friday-night festivities before Saturday’s spring game.
Then, Miami miraculously made a comeback against the team that is known for making comebacks of their own.
The Hurricanes came into the series averaging 4.1 runs per game but scored eight runs in the 9th inning alone to tie the game and send it into extra innings, shocking the fans left in attendance.
Single after single loaded the bases for the Hurricanes, who were barely a threat once the inning began. It was a slow death as hope began to fade as Clemson gave up its chances to end the game.
When Ryley Gilliam stepped on the mound with the bases loaded and the tying run at first, everyone still in attendance held their breath.
With two outs, Hunter Tackett hit a deep fly ball to Meredith in centerfield. The freshman raced back to the deepest part of the field and had the ball in his glove before he slammed against the wall and the ball popped out and fell helplessly to the grass.
Two Miami runs scored, the comeback was complete, and the life was suffocated out of Clemson.
“You feel bad for Kier Meredith,” Lee said. “He caught the ball there in the 9th but the wall jarred the wall loose. He hit a hard ball there at the end but we’ve got to do a better job baserunning and that’s on me as a coach.”
It felt like two different games as the first two innings generated the only runs in the game until the 8th inning happened.
Things were looking good for Clemson as Kier Meredith singled on the second pitch he saw, Jordan Greene walked, and Seth Beer singled to load the bases for Williams. On the next pitch, Chris Williams blasted his grand slam over left-center field to grab the lead for the Tigers.
It only took eight pitches.
Clemson kept things moving in the home half of the 2nd inning after Miami got to within one run. Kyle Wilkie led off the inning with a walk and Cromwell, batting in the nine-hole, crushed a home run over the right-field wall.
The struggling senior who was 2-for-his-last-18 before the home run took a little extra time to watch it leave the ballpark. Just like that, Clemson manufactured six runs one time through the order.
But Cromwell wasn’t done there. While there wasn’t much action after the 2nd inning for either team, that ended when Cromwell stepped up to the plate in the 8th.
The senior belted another 2-run home run almost to the same spot over the right-field wall. Again, Cromwell held on to his bat as he galloped to first base and took a second to admire his second no-doubt home run.
With the bases loaded still in the 8th inning, Drew Wharton drove in three runs with his only hit of the evening to give Clemson all the breathing room it needed at an 11-3 lead. Then, the chaos ensued.
Jacob Hennessy lasted five innings, gave up seven hits, and only allowed three runs to score. Ryan Miller came in for the relief of Hennessy and struck out five batters and gave up no walks.
The Hurricanes loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9th inning with one out, thus beginning the rally. Bo Gobin came in for Miller in his 5th appearance of the season to try and end the game with a couple of double-play balls
Before you knew it, a run was walked in, three consecutive hits were rattled off, and Miami scored five runs to negate any cushion Clemson just created in the 8th inning. But that was just the beginning of the end.
Clemson’s renowned Closer Ryley Gilliam came into the game but was unable to keep Miami off the board. Once the game was tied, Clemson didn’t have any more chances offensively until Miami slammed the door shut in the bottom of the 12th.
“Obviously it’s a tough loss,” Williams said. “The worst thing we can do is think about it and feel sorry for ourselves. Miami isn't going to feel sorry for us.
“The great thing about baseball is you can lose the first game of the series, and come back and win the next two and win the series.”
The Tigers look to right the ship tomorrow at 1:00 in a doubleheader against the Hurricanes. They’ll have to take some time to wake up from the nightmare in Doug Kingsmore.