Clemson blows late lead, falls to Wake Forest

Clemson reliever Nick Clayton held down the Wake Forest bats long enough for the Tigers to take a 3-2 lead late, but his fellow bullpen arms were unable to hold it.

Wake Forest scored a run in each of the eighth and ninth innings to rally for a 4-3 win over Clemson Friday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The Tigers had the tying run on third and winning run on second with two outs in the ninth, but Cooper Ingle grounded out to second to end the game.

With the win, Wake Forest clinches the series after winning Game 1 Thursday night. The second-ranked Demon Deacons are now 25-3 (9-2). Clemson falls to 16-12 (2-6) with the loss.

“It felt like a heavyweight fight going toe-to-toe and trading blows,” Clemson coach Erik Bakich said. “Wake Forest has an elite team with elite players and a bunch of playmakers, bunch of really good hitters and really good pitchers. We were right there.”

It appeared as though Wake Forest was set to grab control early as Clemson had to turn to its bullpen only four outs into the game.

However, Nick Clayton gave Clemson an excellent relief outing to keep the Tigers in the game. Clayton allowed only one run in 4 2/3 innings and exited the game with Clemson holding a 3-2 lead heading to the seventh.

“If Nick Clayton didn’t stabilize things in those early to middle innings, that game could have gotten sideways really quick,” Bakich said. “But it just wasn’t good enough. There’s no moral victories for keeping it close.”

Clayton struck out eight while only walking one. He now has a 2.14 ERA on the year.

Freshman Cam Cannarella continues to swing a hot bat and was 3-for-5 at the plate for the Tigers. Caden Grice was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored, while Riley Bertram drove in a pair of runs with a two-out hit in the fourth.

But Clemson pitchers walked eight batters and hit two more as a staff.

Jackson Lindley suffered the loss for the Tigers, allowing one run in 1 1/3 innings of work.

Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. as Clemson looks to avoid the sweep.

“This is going to be the thing that makes us resilient and tough,” Bakich said. “We just need to keep getting back up, keep fighting, keep throwing punches, keep being aggressive. We will get through this.”