Clemson's Billy Amick hits late grand slam vs. Lipscomb in NCAA Tournament
Lipscomb gave Clemson trouble for much of the Tigers’ opening game of the NCAA Tournament until Clemson slugger Billy Amick decided he had had enough.
Amick delivered a two-out grand slam for Clemson in the eighth inning to turn a close game into a blowout and give the Tigers a 12-5 lead.
With the Tigers leading 8-5, Amick blasted an opposite-field, two-out grand slam on an 0-2 pitch. The home run was the fifth the two teams combined for on the day.
With the late blast, Amick now has 13 home runs on the year. He is batting .416 on the season and has 63 RBIs in only 43 games.
Amick was not in the starting lineup early in the season but has turned into arguably Clemson’s top hitter.
As mentioned, it was a back-and-forth game prior to Amick’s late blast.
Clemson took an early 2-0 lead, before Lipscomb battled back and took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth inning. It was all Clemson from that point forward, though, as the Tigers pulled away and earned a 12-5 win.
With the victory, Clemson advances to the winners’ bracket of its regional. The Tigers will play the winner of Tennessee and Charlotte on Saturday at 6 p.m. Charlotte will face the Vols on Friday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Clemson slugger Caden Grice rakes 2-run home run for early lead vs. Lipscomb
As for how Clemson got the lead to start with, it’s no surprise that two-way star Caden Grice got the Tigers on the board early.
Grice was one of the hottest hitters in the country entering the NCAA Tournament. It’s safe to say that the junior has picked up where he left off in the postseason.
Grice blasted a two-run home run over the wall in right-center field to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Lipscomb.
The lefty pounded the first pitch he saw over the fence for his team-high 17th home run on the season. Grice also leads the Tigers with 65 RBIs.
Caden Grice has now homered in five of his past eight games, and his average is up to .306 on the year.
The Tigers are the No. 1 seed in the Clemson Regional and the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Bisons are the No. 4 seed in Clemson’s regional.