It was tough sledding against the state of Georgia this week for the Tiger baseball program, falling on Tuesday to Georgia Southern before losing two out of three against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Clemson never really got going, leaving them in a tough spot to win the series against the Jackets. Tech came out of the gate firing on all cylinders in Thursday night’s 10-0 run-rule victory in DKS, completely stifling the Clemson offense, which only mustered two hits all evening. Aidan Knaak continued
his 2026 struggles, giving up nine hits and eight runs in just four innings of work. Knaak’s disappointing start to the season has been puzzling, as the rest of the Clemson pitching staff has performed well through the first 20 games of the season.
Game two brought much of the same. The Yellow Jackets jumped out early with a three-run second inning, and although the Tigers were able to push across a couple of runs over the first four innings, the Tech pitching staff would ultimately keep the Clemson bats silent. In the seventh inning, Georgia Tech broke the game wide open with a grand slam that was the result of a fielding error and a walk by the Tiger defense. The Jackets would go on to win game two, 9-3, securing the series win.
With the series in hand, Georgia Tech entered Saturday looking for the sweep, but thankfully, Clemson finally woke up on offense. The Tigers jumped ahead in the first inning with two runs scored by Jarren Purify and Nate Savoie. The Jackets would get one back in the second, and the game remained 2-1 until the fireworks began in the fifth inning.
Georgia Tech led off the fifth with a solo home run from Ryan Zuckerman to tie the game. After back-to-back hits from the Jackets, shortstop Carson Kerce belted a three-run homer to give Tech the 5-2 lead, and it felt like we were back in game one and two now. Clemson needed a response to keep this game from also getting out of hand, and respond did they ever.
Nate Savoie led off the Clemson fifth with a hit by pitch. Tryston McCladdie would reach on a fielder’s choice that put out Savoie, but Jacob Jarrell would pick things up with a two-run homer to left center, his eighth of the season. Down by a run now, Luke Gaffney would get hit by a pitch and advance to second on a wild pitch. Needing to tie the game, Jack Crighton delivered the RBI double that knotted things up at 5. After some pitching changes, Clemson would go on to score five more runs in the inning to take a 10-5 lead. McCladdie’s two-run double capped the eight-run inning for the Tigers. Clemson would add three more runs in the sixth off an error and a few walks.
The Jackets would add a couple more runs late in the game, but ultimately, the 11-run fifth and sixth innings for the Tigers would be enough, and Clemson cruised to a 13-7 game three win, salvaging what had been a bad week and snapping their three-game skid.
The biggest takeaway from the weekend was how legit Georgia Tech is. They have real offensive firepower with the lineup they have put together. It showed in the first two games with just how well the Jackets hit the ball, and even in Saturday’s losing effort, Tech still managed 13 hits. They look like one of the best teams in the country, and certainly the top dog in the ACC.
Clemson needs better performances from its top pitcher, plain and simple. Knaak is Clemson’s ace, but he has played far from that role this year. The junior has given up more hits, runs, and walks than the rest of the staff, and he has failed to go longer than five innings in a game this year. 12 of the 14 runs charged to Knaak this year have been in his last two outings. In his defense, his offense has provided him with zero run support in either of those outings, but we still expect better from the traditional game one starter role.
The Tigers will be back in action on Tuesday night in Charleston when they face the College of Charleston at 6 p.m. and will remain in the lowcountry for a Wednesday night battle with The Citadel, which is slated for 7 p.m.
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