Clemson’s Late Collapse Fuels Coastal Carolina’s 11–9 Comeback Win
The Clemson Tigers (18–8) saw their midseason skid continue Tuesday night, dropping their fourth straight game in an 11–9 loss to No. 15 Coastal Carolina at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Reliever Danny Nelson (0–2) took the loss, while David Horn (3–0) shut the door with three dominant, scoreless innings featuring six strikeouts and just one hit allowed.
Coastal struck early against Clemson starter Dane Moehler, jumping ahead 3–0 in the first on a three‑run homer from Rex Watson following a walk and a hit‑by‑pitch. Clemson chipped away with an RBI single from Jack Crighton in the second and a gifted run in the third when Tryston McCladdie scored on an errant pickoff attempt. The Tigers seized control in the fourth, erupting for five runs.
Nate Savoie and Tyler Lichtenberger delivered RBI singles before Jacob Jarrell capped the inning with a two‑run blast, his 11th of the season, giving Clemson a 7–3 lead. A no‑doubt homer from Ty Dalley in the sixth stretched the advantage to 9–3. Behind the offense, Clemson’s bullpen trio of Dylan Harrison, Hayden Simmerson, and Justin LeGuernic combined for five scoreless innings, seemingly taking control of the game, until everything unraveled in the seventh.
Coastal Carolina clawed back with a flurry of infield singles, two walks, and a bizarre turning point: a routine pop‑up to first base that dropped when Jack Crighton collided with the first base umpire in fair territory, allowing two runs to score and trimming the lead to 9–7. A safety squeeze made it 9–8, and the Chanticleers tied the game moments later by intentionally baiting a throw to second to steal a run on the basepaths. Clemson’s third error of the night opened the door for Coastal to take the lead for good on a ground ball to second that couldn’t be handled by Jay Dillard.
It was the Tigers third error on the night and 35 th on the season. Combined with the 6 hit-by-pitches on the night, Clemson couldn’t get away with the extra outs and baserunners that were handed to Coastal. Horn handled the final nine outs without issue, securing the Chanticleers’ comeback and handing Clemson another frustrating setback as their midseason slide deepens.