Western Carolina’s 17-game home winning streak was put on the line on Tuesday afternoon as former Catamount skipper Jack Legget led his 15th ranked Clemson Tigers to Hennon Stadium.
Clemson was quick to strike off Catamount starting pitcher Bryan Simmons, as Garrett Boulware drove in the game’s first run three batters into the ball game.
The Catamounts followed quietly in the bottom half of the inning, giving the appearance that Clemson was in control early.
The Tigers success was short lived, however, as Western Carolina came to the plate in the home half of the second.
Jacob Hoyle greeted Tigers starter Alex Bostic with a single to left, and Adam Martin quickly jolted the crowd of 1,121 fans with a two-run homer to left center to put the Catamounts up 2-1.
Western Carolina continued success that inning as 4 more Catamounts would come around to score in the frame. Bostic’s start was disastrous for Clemson as he lasted less than two complete innings and gave up four earned runs on two hits with three walks.
Adam Martin went 4-5 with 3 RBIs as the Catamounts take down #15 Clemson. (Photo courtesy of Kyle Rush)
Clemson would go quietly again in the top of the third before J.D. Long added a Catamount run with a RBI double driving in Martin and putting the Catamounts ahead 7-1 after three innings of play.
The “Cats with Bats” exploded with another monster inning in the fourth after two Clemson runs had made the Tigers deficit manageable. The Catamounts answered the Tigers fourth inning and then some as Western Carolina batted in a seven-run inning which gave the Catamounts control of the game.
Western Carolina added four more runs in the fifth and that would prove to be enough the rest of the way, despite a ninth inning rally from the Clemson Tigers.
Clemson trailed 18-4 heading to the ninth inning, but found their stride and quickly escorted three Catamount pitchers out of the contest on the way to scoring six runs in the frame to make the score seem a lot closer than the ballgame ever was.
For the majority of the ballgame Clemson’s offense was as cold as the weather and their pitching and defense may have been worse as they gave up a season high 18 runs but also committed three errors, all of which were in the first five innings.
Taking advantage of the large lead they created earlier, the Catamounts finished off in style with an 18-10 win over Clemson.
Adam Martin led the way for the Catamounts with a team high four hits and three RBI’s and was just a triple shy of the cycle. Catamount starting pitcher Bryan Sammons picked up the win, improving his record to 3-0 early on in the 2014 season.
Western Carolina will play in the University of Georgia tournament this weekend where they will face North Florida, Buffalo, and the host Georgia Bulldogs.
