CLEMSON, S.C. – Junior Grayson Byrd hit his second, third and fourth career home runs in No. 2 Clemson’s 5-0 win over Charleston Southern at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Tuesday night. The Tigers, who won their eighth game in a row and recorded their first shutout of 2018, improved to 16-1, while the Buccaneers fell to 6-12.
Byrd, who had a career-high five RBIs, hit his first homer of the year, a solo shot down the left-field line, with two outs in the second inning. With two outs in the fourth inning, Byrd belted a three-run home run to right field. Byrd then led off the seventh inning with a homer to center field. He became the 14th Tiger in history and first since 2010 (John Hinson vs. USC Upstate on April 21) to hit three home runs in a game.
In his first career start, freshman righthander Holt Jones (2-0) earned the win by tossing 5.1 strong innings. He allowed just two hits, both with one out in the sixth inning, no runs and two walks with eight strikeouts, including striking out the first seven batters of the game. Buccaneer starter Jaret Bennett (0-2) suffered the loss, as he yielded two hits, four runs and one walk with six strikeouts in 4.0 innings pitched.
Clemson concludes its seven-game homestand with a three-game series against No. 10 NC State this weekend starting Friday at 6:30 p.m., on ACC Network Extra. The first 1,000 fans receive trading cards of Tiger players and coaches.
