How Vanderbilt beat Clemson 4-3 in NCAA baseball tournament game

Adam Sparks
The Tennessean

 

Vanderbilt second baseman Ethan Paul watches his two-run home run in the second inning against host Clemson in the NCAA Regional on June 2, 2018.

CLEMSON, S.C. — Follow Vanderbilt beat reporter Adam Sparks' live blog of the Commodores' NCAA Regional game versus Clemson Saturday.

PREGAME NOTES

In the backdrop of tonight's game, it is the two-year anniversary of the death of Vanderbilt pitcher Donny Everett on June 2, 2016. Earlier this week, pitcher Chandler Day reflected on the day he witnessed Everett's drowning and how he honors him.

Regional opener recap:Vanderbilt rides Drake Fellows' slider, Jayson Gonzalez's homer to beat St. John's

Also, Vanderbilt has tossed a curveball by starting left-handed pitcher Zach King. It is Patrick Raby's turn in the rotation, and No. 3 starter Mason Hickman is also available. But King, a former Spring Hill standout, will get the nod.

King has a 1-3 record with a 3.09 ERA and three saves this season, including only two starts and 16 relief appearances.

In last year's Regional here, King made two relief appearances against Clemson. He allowed a combined three earned runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings and struck out two.

FIRST INNING

Clemson: Davidson double down left-field line (advanced to 3B on passed ball) ... Beer walked on four pitches ... Mound visit: Pitching coach Scott Brown visits King only six pitches into game ... Williams single to LF to score Davidson. Clemson 1, Vanderbilt 0. ... Wilkie grounded into double play ... Wharton single left field scores Beer. Clemson 2, Vanderbilt 0. ... Greene walked ... Hawkins groundout to 1B. 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.

Vandy: Austin Martin single through middle (Martin has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games) ... Pat DeMarco pop out ... J.J. Bleday hits into 6-4-3 double play. 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.

SECOND INNING

Clemson: Hall walked (stole 2B) ... Cromwell struck out ... Davidson bloop single into CF to score Hall. Clemson 3, Vanderbilt 0 ... Beer hit into 1-6-3 double play. 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.

Vandy: Connor Kaiser walked ... Philip Clarke line out to CF ... Stephen Scott single to RF. Kaiser advances to 3B. Scott reaches 2B on throw to 3B ... Julian Infante's soft grounder to SS is an out, but it scores Kaiser. Clemson 3, Vanderbilt 1. ... Ethan Paul jacks 2-run home run into the seats in LF corner to two-run shot. (That was Paul's ninth homer this season and first since hitting two homers against Evansville on April 17). Vanderbilt 3, Clemson 3. ... Jayson Gonzalez single to LF ... Austin Martin single to LF .. Pat DeMarco walked to load bases with two outs ... J.J. Bleday fly out to LF. 3 R, 4 H, 0 E, 3 LOB.

THIRD INNING

Clemson: Williams struck out ... Wilkie single ... Wharton walked ... Greene struck out ... Hawkins struck out. 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.

Vandy: Connor Kaiser fly out to RCF ... Philip Clarke fly out to LF ... Stephen Scott  bunt out. (Clemson was in a shift, leaving 3B vacant. It was a good idea, but the bunt was not down the line, as needed). 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB

FOURTH INNING

Clemson: Hall groundout to 2B ... Cromwell hit by pitch on the back of the helmet ... Davidson reached on throwing error by 3B Jayson Gonzalez, who mishandled a hard-hit hopper and then pulled Julian Infante off first base with a slightly off-target throw. ... Beer lined out to SS Connor Kaiser, who quickly stepped on 2B for an unassisted inning-ending double play. 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 1 LOB

Vandy: Julian Infante struck out ... Ethan Paul hit by pitch ...

Pitching change: Higginbotham out, and freshman right-hander Travis Marr in.

... Jayson Gonzalez pop out down right-field line ... Austin Martin fly out to RF. 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.

FIFTH INNING

Pitching change: Zach King out, and junior right-hander Patrick Raby in. Raby normally starts, and King comes out of the bullpen. So this is an interesting swap of roles.

Clemson: Williams walked ... Wilkie fly out to CF ... Wharton foul out ... Williams thrown out trying to steal 2B. 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.

Vandy: Pat DeMarco double down left-field line ... (Pitching change) ... J.J. Bleday groundout to 1B. Moves DeMarco to 3B ... Connor Kaiser pokes a hopper through middle of infield that was playing in. DeMarco scores. Vanderbilt 4, Clemson 3. ... Philip Clarke struck out ... Stephen Scott fly out to RF. 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB

SIXTH INNING

Clemson: Greene fly out ... Byrd (pinch hitter) walked ... Hall struck out ...

Pitching change: Patrick Raby out, and left-hander Jackson Gillis in. Raby allowed no hits and no runs, walked two and struck out one in 1 ⅔ innings.

... Cromwell hits into fielder's choice, a force out by 2B Ethan Paul to end the inning. 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.

Vandy: Julian Infante struck out ... Ethan Paul single to RF ... (Pitching change) ... Jayson Gonzalez struck out ... Austin Martin struck out. 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.

SEVENTH INNING

Clemson: Davidson single to LCF... Beer struck out ... (Davidson advances to 2B on wild pitch) Williams struck out ... Wilkie struck out. 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.

Vandy: Pat DeMarco groundout to 3B ... J.J. Bleday single to RF (stole 2B) ... Connor Kaiser fly out to CF ... Philip Clarke struck out. 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.

EIGHTH INNING

Pitching change: Gillis out, and hard-throwing freshman right-hander Reid Schaller in.

Clemson: Wharton groundout to 2B ... Greene fly out to RF ... Byrd struck out. 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.

Vandy: Stephen Scott walked ... Julian Infante groundout to 3B, which moves Scott to 2B ... Ethan Paul groundout to 1B, which moves Scott to 3B ... Jayson Gonzalez struck out. 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.

NINTH INNING

Pitching change: Schaller out, and Chandler Day in.

Clemson: Meredith foul out ... Cromwell fly out ... Davidson walked ... Beer fly out. 

Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.