Tigers Escape with Win in Slugfest

February 26, 1999

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Clemson defeated 24th-ranked Washington 13-12 in the first of five games at the UNLV/Desert Classic on Thursday afternoon. Clemson improves to 4-0 while Washington falls to 5-3.

Matt Additon (2-0) picked up the win in relief and Thomas Boozer earned his first career save. Daniel Jahn suffered the loss, falling to 1-1.

Clemson got on the board in the first when Henri Stanley doubled to right and scored when third baseman Kevin Ticen could not field a Kurt Bultmann line-drive (scored an error).

Washington tied the game n the second inning when Ryan Mottl’s breaking ball bounced in the dirt then wound up in home plate umpire John Cortez’s pocket. Pete Orgill scored from third base on the wild pitch according to rule 6-4d.

After Clemson took the lead in the top of the third on a Jason Harris opposite-field RBI single, the Huskies took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the third. Dominic Woody led off with his sixth homer of the season, and opposite-field line-drive shot. Washington added two more runs on Matt Hollod’s double, the first of his career, down the left-field line. Matt Additon replaced Mottl after Hollod’s double and retired the next two batters with runners on second and third to end the threat.

Kyle Frank cut the lead in half in the fourth inning on a triple off the center field wall, plating Doug Roper. It was Frank’s first hit as a Tiger.

Washington added two runs in the fifth inning on another RBI double by Hollod and an RBI single up the middle by Greg Brooks.

Clemson responded in the sixth inning with seven runs to take a 10-6 lead. Pinch-hitter Jeff Kane, who was at the plate for the first time in ’99, hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to score Justin Singleton. Ellis and Stanley followed with walks, with the latter plating pinch-runner Joe Don Reames. Washington walked 13 batters in the game. Stanley was down in the count 0-2 before drawing the walk. Then Bultmann, who hit the ball hard twice in previous at bats without a hit to show for it, came through with a grand slam over the left field fence. Harris, who reached on a single, scored on a balk by Ken Ferguson. Harris had three hits and two walks on the day.

The Huskies cut into the Tiger lead in the bottom of the sixth. Kevin Ticen hit an opposite-field double, plating Bryan Williamson. Washington added another run when Roper mishandled a Kyle Woods groundball, scoring Ed Erickson.

Bultmann put Clemson ahead 13-8 in the seventh inning with a three-run shot over the left field fence. Bultmann hit a 1-2 curveball for his second homer of the day.

The Huskies plated three runs in the eighth inning and had the go-ahead run at the plate. But left fielder Casey Stone threw out Hollod at the plate who was trying to score from second base on a single.

Washington threatened again in the ninth inning with the bases loaded an no outs. But Boozer got Pete Orgill to ground into a double play and got Woods to pop up to the catcher to end the game.

The Tigers will play two games on Friday, Feb. 26. The first will be against Creighton (6-2) at 4:30 PM EST and the second against host UNLV at 8:00 PM EST. Fans can listen to the Clemson-UNLV game on the UNLV Radio Network broadcast on the internet at www.radiovegas.com.

Clemson     1  0  1    1  0  7    3  0  0  -    13   13   2Washington  0  1  3    0  2  2    0  3  1  -    12   16   3

Mottl, Additon (3), Proto (6), Reba (8), Boozer (9), and Ellis. Anderson, Jahn (6), Ferguson (6), Gardner (8), Massingale (9), and Woody. Win – Additon (2-0). Loss – Jahn (1-1). Save – Boozer (1). 2B – Stanley (2), Singleton (1), Ticen (2), Hollod 2 (2), Erickson (2). 3B – Frank (1). HR – Bultmann 2 (3), Woody (6), Ticen (5). Time: 404. Attendance: 492