CLEMSON -- Freshman righthander Aidan Knaak tossed 6.0 strong innings to lead No. 8 Clemson to a 7-2 victory over Kennesaw State at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
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The Tigers, who won the series 2-1, improved to 6-1, while the Owls dropped to 3-5.
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Knaak (1-0) earned his first career win by giving up just three hits, no runs and one walk with five strikeouts. He did not allow an Owl to advance past second base. Matthew Marchal pitched 2.1 innings in relief, then Drew Titsworth pitched the final 0.2 innings.
Smith Pinson (0-2) suffered the loss, as he yielded three runs (one earned) on five hits in 2.1 innings pitched.
After Cam Cannarella led off the first inning with a single to extend his hitting streak to 16 games dating to 2023, Jimmy Obertop grounded a two-out single to score the game’s first run. Two batters later, Nolan Nawrocki’s infield single doubled Clemson’s lead.
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In the third inning, Nawrocki walked with the bases loaded, then Andrew Ciufo grounded a two-out single in the fourth inning to tack on a run.
Ciufo grounded another single, this time scoring two runs, in the sixth inning, then Nawrocki followed with a sacrifice fly.
Blake Wright led the Tigers at the plate by going 3-for-4 with four runs.
The Tigers conclude their eight-game homestand by hosting USC Upstate on Tuesday at 4 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
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