Stanford Takes Sunday and Avoids Sweep

Jimmy Nati is greeted at home plate after a home run during Stanford's win over Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, on Sunday April 13, 2025. (Photo By Charles Mays/Tiger View Media)

The Clemson Tigers faced off against the Stanford Cardinal in the final game of a three-game weekend set seeking a sweep. The Cardinal took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning and extended that lead to as many as seven runs to win 11-6 and end their 11-game ACC losing streak. Matt Scott picked up the win for Stanford to improve his record to 5-2 on the season. BJ Bailey was charged with the loss for Clemson, his first of the season.

Strong Start for Stanford

The Cardinal got off to the start they needed after losing the first two games of the series against Clemson. The first inning started with a leadoff double by Trevor Haskins to get Stanford rolling early on Sunday afternoon. Temo Becerra followed up Haskins with a double of his own to give Stanford the early one-run lead, but the Cardinal weren’t done there. Stanford’s three-hole hitter, Jimmy Nati, took BJ Bailey’s pitch out of Doug Kingsmore Stadium to take a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first inning.

Clemson Fights Back

The Tigers fought back immediately with a strong first and second inning to tie the game at three apiece. In the first inning, Cam Cannarella started it off for Clemson with a single and then advanced on a wild pitch to bring up Jarren Purify. The second-year Tiger came through with a base hit to make it a 3-1 game heading into the second frame. Jacob Jarrell led off in the second inning with a firecracker off the left field wall and Jack Crighton followed up the Tigers catcher with an RBI single to cut the Stanford lead down to just one. After Josh Paino’s single put runners on the corners with no outs, Andrew Ciufo tied the game up at three apiece with a sacrifice fly.

Stanford Takes Back the Lead and Then Some

The Cardinal reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth inning, as Stanford took a two-run advantage over the Tigers. The inning started with a one-out walk to Brandon Larson to give the Cardinal’s leadoff hitter, Trevor Haskins, a chance to come up big. The California native did just that with a deep fly ball over the left field wall to put Stanford up 5-3 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning. After a strong bottom of the fourth from starting pitcher Matt Scott, the Cardinal offense stayed hot in the fifth inning with five runs on six singles. The inning started with a hit by pitch and a single, which led to Erik Bakich bringing in Hudson Lee for BJ Bailey. Lee was unable to limit the damage as he allowed three straight singles to give Stanford a four-run lead with no outs. Two more singles by the Cardinal would give them a 9-3 lead and force Erik Bakich into taking out Hudson Lee for Chance Fitzgerald. The Florida native would allow the sixth single of the inning for the Cardinal to put them up 10-3 before Fitzgerald ended the inning on a strikeout of Brady Reynolds.

Clemson Gets Two Back in Fifth, One in the Seventh

The Tigers cut the Stanford lead down to five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to give themselves a chance heading into the sixth. The inning started with a one-out double from Cam Cannarella to give Jarren Purify a runner in scoring position. The Tigers’ three-hole hitter came through with an RBI single to make it a six-run game and Collin Priest followed that up with an RBI single of his own to make it a 10-5 game. Clemson kept it a ballgame in the bottom of the seventh inning with a walk, a hit by pitch, and a wild pitch to bring home Jarren Purify and make it a four-run game. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Cardinal would extend their lead to 11-5 with a solo home run from eight-hole hitter Brandon Larson.

Takeaways

• BJ Bailey – After his terrific start against Georgia Tech on March 29, Bailey has struggled to keep teams off the scoreboard, allowing a combined 10 runs over his last two games. The South Carolina native’s ERA is now up to 2.92 on the season after coming into the game with a 1.36 ERA.

• The Deep Ball – Jimmy Nati, Trevor Haskins, and Brandon Larson all went deep for the Cardinal to propel them to their first ACC victory since March 16. The deep ball provided five RBIs for the Cardinal, while Clemson failed to put one over the fences in today’s game.

Up Next: The Clemson Tigers face off against the Louisville Cardinals on Thursday, April 17 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.