Clemson baseball starter to miss 'weeks' with injury, coach says

Clemson baseball is already scuffling on the field, and now comes word that the Tigers will be without one of their best players for an extended period. Following Tuesday's 11-9 loss to Coastal Carolina, Clemson baseball coach Erik Bakich said that the team would be without starting second baseman and top-of-the-order threat Jarren Purify for "weeks. " Purify was hit by a pitch and suffered a fractured right hand in Saturday's 8-7 loss to Notre Dame, part of a three-game sweep.

"The good news of the bad situation is that it's not displaced, it doesn't require surgery," Bakich told reporters, including The Greenville News' Derrian Carter . "The bone just needs to heal. " Purify was batting .

333 (29-for-87) with two home runs, six doubles and 13 RBIs. He had stolen 10 stolen bases in 14 attempts through 24 games. Clemson (18-8) has lost four straight games and seven of its last 10 after starting the year 15-1 and climbing to No.

9 in the USA TODAY Sports Baseball Coaches Poll. The Tigers, who are unranked in this week's Coaches Poll , blew a 9-3 lead in the final three innings of Tuesday's loss to Coastal Carolina , a game in which Bakich said the team was "out-competed" in the later innings. "That's ultimately on me," Bakich said .