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CLEMSON, S.C. – Billy Amick’s grand slam, his first career home run, with two outs in the ninth inning lifted Clemson to a 9-8 walkoff win over Georgia State at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Friday. The Tigers, who took a 1-0 lead in the series, improved to 8-6, while the Panthers fell to 9-5.
Trailing 8-2 in the eighth inning, the Tigers scored two runs, then three singles and a walk in the ninth inning led to Amick, who entered the game in the sixth inning as a pinch-hitter and also had a single in the game, stepping to the plate with two outs. On a 1-0 breaking ball, he blasted a 446-foot homer to left-center. It was Clemson’s third walkoff grand slam in history and first walkoff home run since 2021.
Back-to-back solo homers by Dylan Strickland and Luke Boynton in the second inning scored the game’s first runs, then Matt Ruiz laced a two-run homer in the top of the third inning to double the Panther lead. In the bottom of the third inning, the Tigers scored on a fielder’s choice after Cam Cannarella, who had a career-high five hits, led off with a single to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.
Georgia State built a 6-1 lead with two two-out runs in the top of the fourth inning, then Cooper Ingle flared a two-out, run-scoring double in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Panthers extended their lead in the fifth inning on Boynton’s two-run homer, his second of the game.
Ingle, who had a career-high five hits, belted a two-run homer, his fourth of the year, in the eighth inning. It marked the first time since 2012 that a Tiger had five hits in a game. It was also the first time since 1982 that two Tigers had five hits in one game.
In the ninth inning, singles by Nathan Hall, Cannarella and Ingle set up Amick’s heroics.
Nick Hoffmann (1-1) earned the win by tossing 1.2 scoreless innings of one-hit ball with three strikeouts. Zach Ottinger (0-2) suffered the loss.
The series concludes with a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. Live video for both games is available on ACC Network Extra.
Photos By Makenna Biehl
