Clemson drops game one to Austin Peay 6-3 after lethargic start
CLEMSON -- On a day where Clemson seniors walked across the stage in Littlejohn Coliseum to receive their diplomas, the Tigers weren’t able to walk out of Doug Kinsgmore Stadium with a win.
Clemson was unable to overcome an early 4-0 deficit and fell to the Austin Peay Governors 6-3.
“Give Austin Peay a lot of credit,” Monte Lee said after the loss. “They did a really good job of filling up the strike zone. They made plays behind their pitching staff. We had 12 hits tonight but only scored three runs… We got to do a better job of competing with two strikes.
Every fan in attendance was waiting for a Clemson comeback to start. A lethargic crowd led to a lethargic performance all evening long and the rally would never come.
Down 5-3, The Tigers (37-13) got the leadoff man on base in the seventh and eighth inning but were easily shut down in order after that. Parker Phillips added the exclamation point to the night for Austin Peay as he belted an Owen Griffith pitch in the ninth inning all the way to Dabo Swinney’s office.
Clemson even had its chance in the bottom of the ninth getting runners to the corners with two outs. But a Chris Williams fly-out to center ended any possibility of another magical Clemson comeback.
It was the early deficit that did the Tigers in. It was in part due to starting pitcher Jacob Hennessy’s horrendous start. He only lasted 3.1 innings, giving up eight hits and five runs on 18 batters faced.
“If you don’t get a good start, it gets tough,” Monte Lee said after the game. “If you can’t get into the fifth inning with your starter, you are looking at having to use at least two relievers or three. It puts you in a tough spot.”
Two RBI singles, both coming with two strikes, from the Governors in the first inning gave them the quick advantage. Two home runs in the second inning really put Clemson behind the eight ball.
Not even Seth Beer’s two-run blast in the third inning to cut Austin Peay’s lead in half did any damage. It was his fourth straight game with a home run and you had to believe Clemson was going to come back after that point.
But Austin Peay immediately responded with a run in the fourth inning and it was smooth sailing for the Governors from there.
“They came out guns blazing,” Beer said.
All night Clemson’s offense always seemed to only hit pop flies making it easy for Austin Peay to keep Clemson out of sync. The Tigers hit ten ground balls; the Governors only hit two.
Lee didn’t get the best effort out of his starting pitcher while Austin Peay starter Michael Costanzo secured his ninth win of the season while shutting Clemson down early in six innings.
Lee said he knew before the game began that this 30-20 Austin Peay team would be “one of the top three or four offensive teams in the ACC.” It’s going to take a better effort from Brooks Crawford on Saturday at 4:00 PM if Clemson is going to come back in this series.
“We got to execute pitches. You are facing a good lineup. If you don’t execute pitches they are going to make you pay,” Lee said. “Those guys made us pay.”