Caden Grice pitched a career-high 6.1 innings and drove in four runs as Clemson beat Florida State 6-2 on Saturday in Tallahassee. The win gives the Tigers their first ACC series win of the season.
The junior left-hander allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out five and walking two, while moving to 2-1 on the season.
Clemson has now won three of its last four and improves to 19-14 overall and 4-8 in ACC play. Florida State drops to 13-18 overall and 4-11 in the league.
The Tigers got it going early as Blake Wright continued to stay hot at the plate with an RBI double in the top of the first to make it 1-0.
Clemson would then put up a crooked number in the second. Cooper Ingle drove in Benjamin Blackwell with a single through the right side to put the Tigers up two runs. Clemson then got a grand slam home run from Grice with two outs to make it 6-0. It was the second grand slam of Grice's career.
The Seminoles finally got on the board in the seventh when Cam Smith launched a mammoth two-run shot out to left to pull Florida State within four, but Nick Clayton would come on in relief and hold the Noles scoreless over the final 2.2 innings.
Player of the Game: Grice did it on the mound and at the plate on Saturday. On top of his stellar pitching performance, Grice was 2-for-4 at the plate, driving in four runs. He now has eight home runs this season and 28 RBI.
Honorable mention for Cannarella, as the freshman continues to set the table for the middle of the lineup. Cannarella was 4-for-5 on the day, with two runs scored and is now hitting .427 on the season.
Key Moment: After Smith's home run off of Grice in the sixth that made the score 6-2, Nick Clayton came on in relief. A HBP, a single and a wild pitch put runners on second and third with two out. Clayton would then strike out Jaime Ferrer swinging to end the threat.
Stat of the Game: For the second straight game, Clemson hitters were able to come up with the clutch hits, as the Tigers were 8-for-17 with runners on base and two outs.
Up Next: Clemson will now head to Athens to face off with Georgia on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on the SECN.
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