#14 Tigers Topple Wake Forest 6-2 Friday

April 13, 2007

Winston-Salem, NC –

North Carolina natives Wilson Boyd, Addison Johnson, and D.J. Mitchell along with lefty starter Daniel Moskos led #14 Clemson to a 6-2 victory over Wake Forest in front of 1,392 fans at Hooks Stadium on Friday afternoon. Clemson, who took a 1-0 series lead, improved to 24-9 overall and 9-4 in the ACC. Wake Forest fell to 20-17 overall, 7-9 in ACC play.

Boyd (Hickory, NC) had a career-high three hits and an RBI. Johnson (Pfafftown, NC) and Mitchell (Rural Hall, NC), who both attended nearby North Forsyth Senior High School, contributed as well. Johnson went 2-for-3 with a triple, walk, and two runs scored, while Mitchell pitched the final 2.0 innings, allowing no hits and no runs with three strikeouts.

In his second career start, Moskos (3-2) pitched a career-high 6.0 innings to earn the win. He allowed six hits, one run, and one walk with a career-best seven strikeouts. Wake Forest starter Brad Kledzik (3-3) suffered the loss, as he gave up four runs on 10 hits in 6.0 innings pitched.

The Tigers took the game’s first lead in the third inning. Johnson led off with a line-drive single to right field and went to third on Brad Chalk’s single through the left side on a perfectly-executed hit-and-run. After Chalk was picked off, Taylor Harbin laced a single off the glove of shortstop Dustin Hood to score Johnson.

In the sixth inning, Ben Paulsen led off with a line-drive double off the wall in center. Boyd’s groundout advanced Paulsen to third. J.D. Burgess followed with a grounder to first. Allan Dykstra’s throw home on what would have been a close play was errant, allowing Paulsen to score and Burgess to move to second. After Johnson grounded out for out #2, Chalk doubled to left-center to score Burgess. Harbin then gave Clemson a 4-0 lead when he blooped a single to right field to plate Chalk.

Michael Murray got the Demon Deacons on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth when he belted a solo home run to right field, his second of the season.

Clemson increased its lead to four runs again in the seventh inning thanks to another Wake Forest miscue. Doug Hogan reached on a one-out error by third-baseman Tyler Smith. After Paulsen’s groundout advanced Hogan to second, Boyd lofted a single to right field to score Hogan.

Wake Forest’s two-out rally cut Clemson’s lead back to three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. After the first two batters were retired, Brett Linnenkohl reached on a hit-by-pitch and Andy Goff followed with a walk. Dykstra then hit a grounder to Burgess at second, but the ball got past him for a single and Linnenkohl scored.

In the top of the eighth inning, Johnson led off with a triple to center. After Chalk walked, Harbin hit a foul ball near the third-base dugout. However, Smith dropped the ball, extending Harbin’s at-bat. Harbin then lofted a sacrifice fly to left field to score Johnson.

Harbin went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Chalk added three of Clemson’s 12 hits. Wake Forest was led at the plate by Linnenkohl, who had two of its seven hits. Wake Forest was just 1-for-13 with runners on base in the contest.

Clemson and Wake Forest will play game-two of the three-game series on Saturday at 11:00 AM, changed from its original start time of 2:00 PM, due to the threat of inclement weather in the area this weekend. Sunday’s start time has also been changed to 12:00 PM.