Clemson Takes the Series Opener Against Duke with Six-Run Fourth Inning

The Clemson Tigers faced off against the Duke Blue Devils in the first game of a three-game weekend set, looking to end their tough stretch. Duke took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the Tigers fought back with a six-run fourth inning to make it a 6-2 ballgame. After a wild top of the ninth inning, Clemson would hold on to win 9-7. Aiden Knaak picked up the win for the Tigers to improve his record to 7-1 on the season. Owen Proksch was tagged with the loss for the Blue Devils, as he allowed six runs in just 3.1 innings of work. With this win, Clemson improves to 38-13 overall and 15-10 within the ACC, while Duke falls to 33-16 and 14-11. 

Gracia and Co. Give Duke Early Lead

Duke took an early lead in the top of the first inning, thanks to AJ Gracia. The Blue Devils two-hole hitter sent a 1-2 fastball over the right-center field wall and onto the batting cages to give Duke a one-run lead. That was Gracia's ninth bomb of the season. But the Blue Devils weren't done there, as an error by Andrew Ciufo allowed Ben Miller to reach base, and a walk to Jake Hyde put runners on second and first with one out. Tyler Albright, the Blue Devils third baseman, took advantage of Ciufo's error with an RBI single up the middle to give Duke a 2-0 lead. After that base knock, the Blue Devils had runners on the corners but could not cash in as Ben Rounds and Sam Harris popped out and struck out, respectively, to end the inning. 

Clemson Bats Start Quiet

Clemson struggled to get going on the offensive side to start this game, which has become a recurring theme throughout the past few weeks. Through three innings, the Tigers were held scoreless, with their only hit coming from Cam Cannarella in the first inning. The Blue Devils starter Owen Proksch was cruising, only throwing 52 pitches while sitting down the Clemson lineup with ease. Sometimes, teams struggle to put up runs because of good defense or bad luck, but this was not the case for the Tigers, as Jack Crighton's second-inning lineout was seemingly the only barreled ball of the first few innings. 

Clemson Explodes in Monster Fourth Inning

After struggling to reach base for three innings, the Tigers finally woke up offensively to take a big lead over the Blue Devils. The rally started with a bunt single from Collin Priest, the most unlikely source. After Priest's bunt, Dominic Listi was hit by a pitch, his 23rd of the season, and Jacob Jarrell worked a walk to load the bases for Jack Crighton. The struggling right fielder notched a base hit into left field to knot the score up at two apiece. But the Tigers kept pushing, as a Josh Paino walk would load the bases for Andrew Ciufo, who took advantage of a 2-2 meatball and laced into left field to give the Tigers a one-run lead with Cam Cannarella stepping to the plate. The future MLB prospect came through with a double down the third base line to clear the bases and give the Tigers a 6-2 lead heading into the fourth inning. 

Duke Cuts Into the Clemson Lead with Runs in the Sixth and Seventh

The Blue Devils put a dent into the Tigers' lead in the sixth inning off the bat of AJ Gracia, once again. The inning started with a one-out walk to Sam Harris and a Max Winslow hit by pitch to knock Aiden Knaak out of the game and bring in Reed Garris. The Tigers' trusty reliever didn't have his sharpest stuff as he walked Wallace Clark to load the bases after Sam Harris was called out when Jake Berger's single ricocheted off of him for the second out of the inning. After Clark's walk, AJ Gracia stepped up to the plate and delivered a base hit into center field to bring home two runs and make it a 6-4 ballgame. In the top of the seventh inning, Duke got themselves one run closer. The run came off the bat of the Blue Devils cleanup hitter, Jake Hyde, as the Connecticut native took a 2-2 pitch from Reed Garris and sent it over the right-center field wall to make it a 6-5 game. Just a few pitches after Hyde's home run, Garris would have to be helped off the field by the athletic trainer with a potential leg injury. 

Clemson Extends the Lead

The Tigers added a ninth run to their tally in the bottom of the eighth inning to extend their lead to four. Jacob Jarrell started things for the Tigers as his one-out double into the right-center field gap put a runner in scoring position for Jack Crighton. During Crighton's at-bat, a wild pitch by Reid Easterly allowed Jarrell to move to third base, just 90 feet away from the plate. Crighton took advantage of the wild pitch for his third RBI of the day, as a sacrifice fly to center field made it a 7-5 ballgame. But the damage wasn't done there as Josh Paino doubled down the third base line, which brought up the number nine hitter, Andrew Ciufo. The New York native didn't disappoint as he crushed a 1-0 pitch from Easterly into the left-center field stands to make it a 9-5 ballgame heading into the ninth. 

Duke Cuts Into the Lead in the Ninth

The Blue Devils got two runs back in the top of the ninth inning to make things tough for Lucas Mahlstedt and the Tigers. The inning started with a single by AJ Gracia, who beat up Clemson all night long, and then a double by Jake Hyde to put runners on second and third with one out. A swinging bunt single by Tyler Albright brought home Gracia and cut the Clemson lead down to three. The inning would only get worse for the Tigers as an error by Josh Paino and a walk to Sam Harris made it a 9-7 ballgame with just one out. But Mahlstedt was able to close the door on the Blue Devils as Macon Winslow grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game. 

Takeaways

• Are They Back? - I know it has only been one game, but is the Clemson offense back? Besides the first couple of innings, that was the most life we've seen out of this Clemson team in a few weeks. Eight of the nine starters in today's game reached base, with Luke Gaffney being the only Tiger to record an out in all four at-bats. Along with most of the starters reaching base, Clemson did damage with those runners. The Tigers went 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position and 3-for-3 with the bases loaded. This is the type of offense that Clemson fans expect from a team as talented as this one. 

• Cam Cannarella - The Tigers superstar showed why he's one of the top MLB prospects in the 2025 MLB draft with tonight's performance. Cannarella reached base four times with two singles, a double, and a hit by pitch. The double from Cannarella came in the fourth inning to extend the Clemson lead from one run to four. The Tigers need Cannarella to keep showing up in the big moments, as he has done his entire Clemson career. 

• Up Next - The Clemson Tigers will face off against the Duke Blue Devils in game two of the three-game set at Doug Kingsmore Stadium at 2:00 PM.