The temperature in Clemson has begun to warm up, but it was the bats in Doug Kingsmore Stadium that caught fire.
The Tigers put up 17 runs in the first four innings to cruise past Winthrop in a mid-week clash, 20-7.
Winthrop drew first blood in the afternoon contest, cranking out two runs to start things out.
Gabe Natividad took advantage of several wild pitches to get into scoring position, scoring an unearned run to give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead.
The first-inning bleeding didn’t stop there, with Koby Kroff launching a solo homer to cushion the Eagles’ quick punches.
It didn’t take long for Clemson to come up with an explosive response.
Trailing 2-1 with the bases loaded, Jacob Jarrell launched a hit centerfield for a grand slam, giving the Tigers their first lead of the day.
Sitting at a 5-2 advantage, the offense continued to roll, with Tryston McCladdie sending in Jarren Purify for an additional run to add to Clemson’s cushion.
At the bottom of the third, Dominic Listi got involved in the scoring, launching a hit that got lost in the sky, allowing Jack Crighton to stride to home plate for the Tigers’ seventh run of the day. Clemson poured salt on Winthrop’s wound moments later, with an error advancing Purify to extend the Tiger lead to five.
The Eagles’ errors continued to compound as Clemson poured on additional runs in the same stretch, reaching double-digit runs in the process.
Despite such an overwhelming deficit, Winthrop crawled back into the game, logging four runs at the top of the fourth, poking into the sizeable lead the Tigers had built.
The Eagles’ momentum vanished instantly as Clemson went nuclear in the fourth inning, posting seven runs to give the Tigers a double-digit lead. In such a stretch, Cam Cannarella tripled to send multiple runners home. Collin Priest and Josh Paino launched homers, throwing the kitchen sink at the Eagles’ defense.
Winthrop cycled through eight pitchers in the first five innings, slotting out a constant rotation of arms to try to quell Clemson’s offense.
LHP Brendon Bennett got the start for the Tigers, but B.J. Bailey found the most success, taking over in the fourth and producing multiple scoreless innings as the offense mounted a double-digit lead.
Ten Tigers scored at least one run as Clemson put together a season-high 20 runs.
Clemson will host South Carolina on Friday at 7:00 p.m. on the SEC Network Extra.
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