Georgia Hands Clemson 8-4 Setback

March 28, 2001

ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia got eight runs on 15 hits to beat Clemson 8-4 Wednesday night at Foley Field in front of a crowd of 1,515.

Andy Neufeld was 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs and also scored two runs. Jeff Keppinger was 3 for 3 with 2 RBI and two runs scored. Both RBIs were from a two-run homer in the seventh inning. In all five Bulldogs had multiple hits. For Clemson, Casey Stone and Khalil Greene were both 2 for 5. Greene had 2 RBIs and scored one run.

Clemson struck first in the top of the first inning. Stone doubled to lead off the game and Greene singled to knock in Stone. Jeff Baker singled and Michael Johnson walked to load the bases before two strikeouts by Georgia starter Jody Friedman and a fly out ended the inning and the Tigers’ scoring threat.

Stone singled in Zane Green to give Clemson a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning before Georgia tied the game in bottom of the inning. Kris Edge walked after designated hitter Blake Bodenmiller struck out to start the inning. Adam Swann singled to move Edge to third and then Neufeld doubled to score both Edge and Swann.

The Bulldogs took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Clemson starter Jarrod Schmidt hit David Coffee to lead off the inning and then Neufeld singled to move Coffee to second. A sacrifice bunt by Jody Pollock advanced both base runners. Schmidt intentionally walked Keppinger and then walked Mark Thornhill to bring in Georgia’s first run of the inning. The Bulldogs added two more runs on an error by Baker at third base to take a 5-2 advantage.

Clemson short stop Khalil Greene led off the Tiger fifth inning with a home run over the left field fence to pull Clemson within two runs and then in the sixth Chad Coder scored from second on a shot up the middle by Steve Pyzik to make the score 5-4.

The game remained close until the bottom of the seventh inning when the Bulldogs scored three runs with the aid of Neufeld’s third hit of the game and a two-run homer over the left field fence by Keppinger.

Clemson’s threat in the eighth inning was quickly quieted. After base hits by both Ryan Riley and Coder, Bulldog reliever Jeremy Brown struck out the next two batters and got Stone to fly out to left field to end the threat. Brown struck out the first two batters in the ninth inning before allowing Michael Johnson on board with an infield hit to third base. Schmidt, who stayed in the game as the designated hitter, lined out to the short stop to end the game.

For Georgia, which improved to 18-7 overall, Friedman got the win to improve to 1-2 on the year. Schmidt got the loss for Clemson to fall to 3-3 this season. The Tigers are 18-8 overall. Brown got his second save of the year for Georgia.

Clemson will host the New York Institute of Technology in a three-game series this weekend at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Friday’s game will be at 7:15 PM, while Saturday’s game will be at 7:00 PM and Sunday’s game will be at 1:00 PM. All three games will be broadcast on the Clemson Tiger Network.