Clemson earns walk-off win to complete sweep of Indiana

Clemson finished off a sweep of Indiana in dramatic fashion Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers earned a 5-4 walk-off victory over the Hoosiers in 10 innings on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Bryar Hawkins with runners on the corners and one out. Benjamin Blackwell scored on the play to give Clemson a perfect 3-0 start to the weekend.

Clemson opened the season with a 9-0 victory over Indiana on Friday, before following that up with a 19-4 win over the Hoosiers on Saturday.

While there wasn’t much drama the first two games of the season, there was plenty on Sunday.

For the second consecutive game, Indiana got on the board first as Phillip Glasser hit a first-inning home run.

The Tigers quickly evened the game at 1 on a sac fly by sophomore star Caden Grice in the bottom half of the first.

After Indiana took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third, Clemson took its first lead of the game in the bottom half of the frame on a two-run homer by Grice, which was his first of the season.

Indiana regained the lead in the top of the sixth with a pair of runs, before the Tigers tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on a bases loaded walk.

In addition to going 2-for-3 with a homer and 3 RBIs, Grice also earned the win for Clemson, pitching a scoreless 10th inning.

Clemson’s bullpen was excellent all afternoon, allowing only 2 runs in 7 innings.

Nick Hoffman got the start on the mound for the Tigers and struggled, allowing two runs on four hits, with three walks in 3 innings of work.

Getting a sweep to open the season should be a nice confidence boost for the Tigers after a disappointing 2021 season.

Up next, Clemson hosts Charleston on Tuesday at 4 p.m. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.