Clemson goes deep in rout of Ga. Southern

Chris Okey, Chris Williams and K.J. Bryant all belted home runs to lead No. 23 Clemson to a 12-1 victory over Georgia Southern on Friday.

The Tigers, who took a 1-0 lead in the series, improved to 33-17, while the Eagles fell to 30-21. Clemson scored double-digit runs for the fourth straight series opener, the first time it’s done that since 1990.

Okey lined a three-run homer, his 10th long ball of the year, in the first inning. After the Eagles scored a run in the second inning, Williams smacked another three-run homer in the fourth inning. Clemson added three runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by RBI doubles by Okey and Reed Rohlman. Bryant added a home run to lead off the sixth inning, and the Tigers added two runs in the seventh inning on RBI singles by Rohlman and Williams.

Okey led the Tigers’ 12-hit attack by going 4-for-4 with a homer, double, four RBIs and four runs. Williams added two hits and four RBIs. Chase Pinder extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

Tigers starter Charlie Barnes (5-4) earned the win, pitching seven innings and allowing five hits, one run and one walk with seven strikeouts. The sophomore lefthander retired 14 of the last 15 batters he faced. Eagle starter Evan Challenger (5-4) suffered the loss, giving up nine runs on seven hits in five innings.

The series continues Saturday at 7 p.m.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 11:42 PM with the headline "Clemson goes deep in rout of Ga. Southern."