Huge inning lifts Clemson baseball past Michigan State

Clemson baseball only scored in one inning Wednesday night against Michigan State, but the Tigers made it count.

Clemson used a nine-run fifth inning to top the Spartans 9-7 at Fluor Field in Greenville. The win improves the Tigers to 12-1 on the season.

Michigan State led 6-0 entering the fifth inning before the Clemson’s offense exploded.

Logan Davidson got Clemson on the board with an RBI single to cut the lead to 6-1. Seth Beer followed with an RBI single to cut the lead to 6-2.

Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Chris Williams singled to cut the lead to 6-3.

Robert Jolly and Drew Wharton then drove in runs with back-to-back walks with the bases loaded to make it a one-run game before Justin Hawkins hit an infield single to tie the game at 6-6.

Grayson Byrd hit a sac fly to give Clemson a 7-6 lead, its first of the game, before Kyle Wilkie and Davidson hit back-to-back RBI singles to push Clemson’s lead to 9-6.

The Spartans rallied in the ninth inning against Clemson closer Ryley Gilliam and cut the lead to 9-7 with the bases loaded and one out. But Carson Spiers eventually came in to close out the game and preserved the win for the Tigers.

Davidson finished 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs for the Tigers, while Williams and Wilkie also finished with two hits.

Clemson returns to action this weekend, hosting Georgia Tech in a three-game series beginning on Friday to start ACC play.

This story was originally published March 7, 2018 at 11:00 PM with the headline "Huge inning lifts Clemson baseball past Michigan State."