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Stuck in the midst of an eight game losing streak, this wasn't the best week for Monte Lee's team to be faced with two midweek games. With Mat Clark missing his scheduled start last weekend, it put the coaching staff in the precarious situation of having to start freshman RHP Jackson Lindley, who hadn't pitched in over a month.
However, Lindley gave the team exactly what it needed and then some. The young hurler went 5.2 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits, while striking out 5, with no walks, as Clemson beat Tennessee Tech 7-4.
After a 1-2-3 first, the Golden Eagles did have some hard hit balls off of Lindley in the second inning, scoring their first run in the process, but he went on to settle in nicely, picking up the first win of his Clemson career (1-0).
The Tiger offense got on the board early as Kyle Wilkie hit a 2 run double in the bottom of the 1st to put Clemson up 2-0. After the Golden Eagles cut it to 2-1 in the 2nd, the Tigers would add to their lead in the 3rd with a sac fly from Bo Majkowski and an RBI single from Davis Sharpe that made it 4-1.
Jason Hinchman would hit a solo shot off of Lindley in the 6th, his 19th homerun of the season, to cut the lead in half, 4-2. Logan Davidson would then answer with a towering, two run shot of his own in the bottom of the sixth, giving the Tigers a 6-2 lead. The ball landed on the backside of the roof of the batting cages and was Davidson's 11th long ball on the season.
Clemson would add an insurance run in the 7th on an RBI single by Matt Cooper, extending the lead to 7-2. Tennessee Tech would then get a 2 run double off of Ryne Huggins in the 8th, cutting it to 7-4, but they would get no closer. Monte Lee turned to closer Carson Spiers and he struck out three of the four batters he faced to end it, picking up his 10th save of the season.
Clemson improves to 26-16 and sits at #36 in RPI, while Tennessee Tech drops to 15-22. The Tigers will now hit the road to face a red hot Georgia Tech team this weekend in Atlanta.