Haselden strong in win over Furman

Pitching in his last regular-season game at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, senior righthander David Haselden pitched a career-long 7.2 innings and gave up just two runs to lead Clemson to a 9-2 win over Furman on Tuesday night.

The Tigers, who won the season series 2-0, improved to 32-21, while the Paladins dropped to 23-29. Clemson had beaten Furman 12-5 at Fluor Field in Greenville, SC on April 10.

Furman scored single runs in both the first and second innings to build a 2-0 lead. But Clemson scored five runs in the third inning to take the lead for good. The Paladins had several scoring chances all night, but they only scored two of their 14 baserunners thanks in large part to going just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Haselden (4-1), a native of Spartanburg, SC, made his first start since March 7 and earned the win. He yielded eight hits, two runs, and four walks with five strikeouts. Mike Kent pitched the final 1.1 innings without allowing a run.

Furman starter Stephen Gary (3-1), who was making his first start of the season, suffered the loss. He surrendered six hits, five runs, and no walks with one strikeout in 3.0 innings pitched.

The Paladins took the game's first lead in the first inning. Jake Jones led off with a double to left field and advanced to third on Will Owens' groundout to second. Jones scored on Jarrod Rickman's groundout to short.

In the second inning, Chris Ohmstede lined a one-out single to left field. Two batters later, Zack Greenwell grounded a two-out single through the left side, then Jones followed with another single through the left side to score Ohmstede.

The Tigers broke through with five runs in the third inning. Garrett Boulware led off with a single to left-center and Jason Stolz singled through the right side. Thomas Brittle laid down a bunt to Ohmstede at third. His throw to first was errant and allowed Boulware to score from second. Stolz scored on a wild pitch, then Jay Baum reached on an infield single to plate Brittle. Richie Shaffer reached on a fielder's choice as Baum was retired at second, then Phil Pohl lined a two-run homer down the left-field line, his eighth long ball of the season.

Jon McGibbon led off the fourth inning with a long home run to right field, his third homer of the season and second against Furman.

In the fifth inning, Shaffer led off with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Pohl reached on another error by Ohmstede that allowed Shaffer to score.

Brad Felder led off the seventh inning with an infield single and Joe Costigan belted a double to right-center. McGibbon followed with a sacrifice fly down the right-field line to score Felder, then Tyler Slaton lofted a sacrifice fly to center to plate Costigan.

Pohl, another senior who was playing his last regular-season game at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, led the Tigers at the plate with his two-run homer. McGibbon added two RBIs, while Shaffer scored a game-high two runs.

Jones paced Furman by going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Owens added two hits as well.

Clemson will travel to Winston-Salem, NC to take on Wake Forest in a three-game series starting Thursday at 6:00 PM.