Clemson drops Game 3 as UCF completes sweep of Tigers

The first weekend of the season couldn’t have gone much better for the Clemson baseball team as the Tigers swept Binghamton in impressive fashion.

The second weekend couldn’t have gone much worse as Clemson went 0-3 and was swept.

UCF completed a sweep of the Tigers with a 13-6 win Sunday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The two teams were tied through six innings, before the Knights outscored Clemson 7-0 the rest of the way.

UCF won the first two games of the series 4-2 and 10-7. The Tigers were outscored 27-15 in the three games.

“Just a really disappointing weekend overall. … We just let each game slip away, all three of them, late,” Clemson coach Erik Bakich said. “Unfortunately for us, we just didn’t have those answers in the bullpen late in each of these three games. And that’s where the games were separated.”

Starter Jay Dill allowed five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings, while the Clemson bullpen allowed eight runs — although only three were earned.

After allowing 11 runs the first four games of the season, the Tigers allowed 10 and 13 in their past two.

“I’d like to think Clemson baseball, playing at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, is the one that’s going to be doing the separating,” Bakich said. “Clearly we’ve got to get a lot better, and we will.”

Cooper Ingle was 2-for-5 with a home run to lead Clemson at the plate, while Cam Cannarella and Will Taylor also each had a pair of hits.

However, the offense was unable to keep up with a UCF team that finished with 15 hits on Sunday, including seven that went for extra bases.

Tom Josten led the way for the Knights, going 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs. Ben McCabe was 4-for-5 with a homer and four runs scored.

“This will end up being a very good thing for this team to learn and grow from as the season goes on. Getting some adversity early, we’re going to find the positive in it,” Bakich said. “It sucks right now and leaves a very bitter taste in our mouth, especially with a team that’s very mouthy in the way they celebrate on our own field. So that’s double tough. But we are going to find a way to be better, and we will be better for this in the long run.”

Up next, the Tigers will face USC Upstate in Greenville on Saturday, before beginning a three-game series with South Carolina.

Clemson will host the Gamecocks on Friday, before the two teams meet in Greenville on Saturday. Game 3 will be played Sunday in Columbia.