Stanford Baseball Narrowly Falls in Game Two Against Clemson

So close, yet so far. After falling to Clemson in game one of the series on Friday, the Cardinal came back out for game two on Saturday, but fell 11-10 in what was a much closer contest in South Carolina.

Clemson scored in the very first inning via a home run but it did not take long for Stanford to respond, as they managed to score five runs in the second inning, starting with an Ethan Hott two RBI single.

Later in the inning, Trevor Haskins brought in Hott via a single to right center field, making it 3-3. After Temo Becerra then reached base on an error, red-hot freshman Tatum Marsh hit an RBI single to drive in the run and give Stanford a two-run lead.

But Clemson put together a big second inning of their own, scoring five runs that eventually led to them regaining an 8-5 lead. It all started with an RBI single from Dominic Listi that cut the Stanford lead down to 5-4. After that, Jarren Purify reached base on a fielder's choice that scored a run and made it 5-5.

Then came designated hitter Robert Priest, who hit a hard double to right field that scored a run and gave Clemson a 6-5 lead. After Luke Gaffney singled and Josh Paino got an RBI walk, Clemson had an 8-5 lead at the end of the second inning.

In the third and fourth innings, Stanford tied things up after a third inning home run from Trevor Haskins brought in two and made it 8-7, followed by a fourth inning double by Brady Reynolds to bring in Jimmy Nati and make it an 8-8 ballgame.

But then, Stanford was able to take its final lead of the game when Hott hit a hard single through the right side, scoring two runs, and giving the Cardinal a 10-8 lead.

When the Tigers came back out to bat in the fifth inning, they really locked in. Down by two with nobody on base, Josh Paino came up and hit a long home run to left field, cutting the Stanford lead to 10-9. Then after Andrew Ciufo got on base, Listi hit a single to bring him home and tie things up at 10. And while Stanford managed to get out of the inning, it was not without trouble.

With momentum back on Clemson's side, it was able to take the 11-10 lead, and the win, in the sixth inning when catcher Jacob Jarrell hit a solo homer to center field. And even though the Cardinal got the chance to bat again, they were unable to muster anything else that allowed them to make a comeback.

Sam Garewal took the loss for the Cardinal, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while he struck out four through two innings of work.

With the loss, the Cardinal have offiically lost the series, but will look to take at least one game in the series finale on Sunday. First pitch is set for noon (PT).