CLEMSON, S.C. – On Friday, the Clemson Tigers hosted the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers won their 22nd game of the year, defeating Wake Forest 5-1.
Here are takeaways from Friday night’s matchup in Clemson.
Aidan Knaak Puts Together a Great Start to Get the Tigers Ahead – The pitching matchup heading into Friday’s game was the big story. Aidan Knaak rolled through the Wake Forest lineup thanks to some confidence gained from a four-run first inning for Clemson.
In his six innings of work, Knaak struck out 10 batters and gave up only two hits. He put on a display of why he is the clear Friday night ace for Clemson and one of the best pitchers across the country.
The only run he gave up was a home run by Wake Forest’s Kade Lewis. However, by that point, the Tigers already had five runs on the board.
His great start was key to Clemson’s win.
Wake Forest’s Offense Struggled Early On – The Demon Deacons struggled to find offense early. This allowed Clemson to build a big lead.
Wake Forest had just one hit heading into the fourth inning which came from Marek Houston. The second hit came in that inning which was the solo home run by Lewis.
The lineup was not drawing a ton of walks either. Wake Forest had just two as a team through seven innings.
This lack of base runners early led to a lack of offense. It hurt Wake Forest in keeping up with Clemson throughout most of the game.
Clemson Thrived with Moving Runners Throughout the Game – The scoreboard only showed five hits for Clemson in the game. However, the six walks by the Tigers’ lineup led to tons of opportunities to advance runners, which they took advantage of.
Clemson was 10-16 with chances to advance runners. This led to scoring plays such as the two sacrifice flies by Collin Priest and Dominic Listi.
Despite just five hits, Clemson did a lot by moving the runners they put on base. This led to the scoring they needed to win the game.
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
Photo: Clemson’s Cam Cannarella (10) batts during an NCAA baseball game against Oklahoma State on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. Clemson won 6-5. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)
