April 21, 2004

Clemson, SC - After The Citadel amassed 35 runs and 44 hits in a three-game sweep of lowly High Point, odds were Clemson was going to throw a cold bucket of water on those pyrotechnics Tuesday.

The Tigers were responsible for the adding-machine numbers on this night, handing the Bulldogs a 13-4 defeat in front of 3,046 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Alone in second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings after winning two of three games at North Carolina last weekend, the Tigers pounded out 16 hits and won for the fifth time in six games.

Down 4-3 in the fifth inning, Clemson devoured the deficit by scoring 11 unanswered runs.

"It was a well-played game until the fifth inning," said Bulldogs coach Fred Jordan, whose team dropped to 23-14. "Clemson capitalized on our mistakes, and from there it was their ballgame."

Jordan was referring to a frame that saw The Citadel surrender three runs with two outs. Bulldogs second baseman Jon Aughey was responsible for an error that allowed the inning to continue. It was a miserable night for Aughey, who committed three of his team's four errors. Known as The Citadel's best defensive infielder, he had just five errors in 36 games entering Tuesday's tilt.

"Stuff happens," Aughey said. "I've just got to shake it off."

Clemson reliever Jeff Hahn was solid after replacing starter Kris Harvey in the fourth inning, shutting out the Bulldogs over five innings while giving up four hits and striking out two.

Harvey made up for a shaky effort on the mound with three hits and a home run, and Brad McCann had two hits and three RBIs for the Tigers.

"Any mistake they made tonight, we took advantage of it," said Clemson head coach Jack Leggett.

Poor base running kept the Bulldogs from building on a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning, allowing the Tigers to pull away and flip on the cruise control. Josh Stackley was thrown out at first after misjudging a line drive to center field that was caught by Tony Sipp. Stackley was already past second base by the time Sipp made the catch, and Sipp made the easy throw to first.

Aughey hit a single to left, but he was picked off at first by Hahn to end The Citadel's half of the inning.

Clemson followed by taking control in its half, scoring five runs off starter Griff Beckham to go up 8-4. The Bulldogs almost got out of the inning down just 5-4, but Aughey committed his first error on a routine grounder to second by Travis Storrer.

Lou Santangelo scored from third on the play, and Russell Triplett kept things going with a bloop double that sneaked just inside the left-field line. Tyler Colvin followed with a single to center that scored the last of Clemson's three two-out runs in the fifth.

After Sipp singled for Clemson's 12th hit of the game, Beckham was replaced by reliever Zach Brown.

Aughey had more problems in the sixth. He committed two errors on one play, botching another routine grounder and then making an awful throw to first that rolled to the backstop and allowed Harvey to score.

"I just missed them," Aughey said of his errors. "It's definitely disappointing."

Chip Cannon led the Bulldogs by going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a home run.