Clemson falls to Vanderbilt and now finds itself in a familiar position

CLEMSON -- For the third straight year, Clemson has found itself in a familiar position. Suddenly, the 46-win Tigers now have their back against the wall.

It started off so different, so promising, for a fan base that was sure this was the moment their Tigers would finally get over the Saturday hump. But in the end, it was the same result.

Clemson fell on Saturday night 4-3 in the all-important winner’s bracket game to a pesky Vanderbilt squad that just doesn’t seem to go away.

"Give Vanderbilt a lot of credit," Monte Lee said. "The big difference was their bullpen did a great job against us. We had some opportunities with runners on base, and they pitched out of some tough spots. Their pitching staff executed pitches in big situations, and we just couldn't come up with the big hit."

Lee’s club was the aggressor in the first two innings, and it looked like Clemson was about to run away into the Regional championship. Vanderbilt’s decision to go with left-handed starter Zach King looked like a questionable one after a leadoff double from Logan Davidson, a Chris Williams single gave Clemson an early lead.

“They ambushed us right away,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said. “We were really playing with fire.”

But the Commodores had been here before and weren’t going to go down easy.

Vanderbilt responded with a haymaker of its own with Ethan Paul’s two-run home run in the bottom of the second to tie the game up. Clemson starter Jake Higginbotham threw only six pitches in the first inning, but his 38 pitches in the second inning felt like batting practice as the early lead was squandered.

Clemson needed a quality five innings from its starter, but instead, it was forced to play catch up.

“(Higginbotham) just wasn’t quite on his game tonight,” Lee said following the loss. “We had to turn to the bullpen in the fourth inning and tried to piece it together. I thought those guys did an outstanding job and gave us a chance.”

Suddenly, the team whose motto has been “All Gas, No Brakes” looked like they were set on cruise control for the rest of the game.

Clemson had four hits and three runs in the first two innings, but only got two hits the rest of the way. Every time the Tigers got a runner in scoring position, a member of Vanderbilt’s bullpen was there to close the door on any possible momentum.

The Tigers’ bats that have been so brutal towards opponents went cold when they needed them most. They were 3-for-19 with runners on base and 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position, including a seventh inning where Seth Beer, Williams, and Kyle Wilkie struck out after Davidson reached second base.

Once Connor Kaiser’s RBI single in the 5th inning gave the Commodores the go-ahead lead, Vanderbilt’s bullpen looked to carry them the rest of the way.

The four Vanderbilt pitchers who came out of the bullpen didn’t last more than two innings each but made their presence felt only allowing one hit the rest of the way. Their mission was to treat the game as if it were a relay race, passing the baton off to the next guy until they reached the finish line.

“I was just trying to do what I could to pass the baton off to the other guys,” said Jackson Gillis who retired the three hot hitters in a row. “We harp on passing the ball off to the next guy.”

Even with Clemson trailing, it was only a one-run game, and every Clemson fan knows how those games usually end up. There was always hope in Clemson’s dugout, even with Kier Meredith stepping up to the plate for the first time since April 27th in the ninth inning. and

In the end, Beer walked up to the plate with a chance to add another moment to his legendary career.

Instead, he lined out to centerfield to cement his 1-for-4 night while also hitting into two crucial double plays. Now, Clemson has to refocus and move forward, which Lee said won’t be difficult at all for his group to do.

The Regional hosts play a do-or-die game in a matter of hours and have to win three straight.

Again.

But this has been a resilient group all year, and these players were quick to remind everyone that there’s still baseball to be played.

“If you think we’re going to roll over, you’re crazy,” Williams said.

“It’s not over. We’re not done doing our thing,” Davidson added right after. “We’re going to have a long day tomorrow, but we are going to get it done.”

Fans in orange hoped Sunday would be a short, comfortable day at the ballpark. But there was a sense of deja vu as the fans decked out in black and gold - who have to feel right at home by now - cheered on their team as they exited the field.

The journey of getting over this home Regional hump just became a much steeper mountain to climb.