Clemson baseball claims victory in fall matchup against Alabama

Baseball season is still months away, but for head coach Eric Bakich and his Clemson Tigers, fall ball is a chance to get quality at-bats in the offseason and evaluate where the team is at in the fall.

Hosting Fall Ball Fan Fest on Saturday, the backyard games were not the only games played around Doug Kingsmore Stadium this weekend. Clemson was able to take home a fall ball win against Alabama, defeating the Crimson Tide by a final score of 4-1 after nine innings of play. But there was still more baseball to be played at DKS, as the Tigers and Crimson Tide played three more innings. Clemson pushed across four more runs and kept Alabama at a total of three runs through the 12 innings played, making the 12-inning score 8-3 in favor of the Tigers.

Propelled by two home runs in the nine-inning game. Clemson brought home three of its four runs on home runs by infielder Luke Gaffney, who left the yard on a solo shot in the bottom of the first, and a two-run home run by true freshman outfielder/right-handed pitcher Dylan Harrison in the bottom of the third inning. Former three-star dual-threat quarterback recruit Bryce Clavon started the threat by hitting a single, later getting driven in by Harrison.

Harrison was the 129th-ranked recruit in the 2025 class, according to Perfect Game. Earning a 9.5 grade from Perfect Game, Harrison was a highly touted recruit coming out of high school. As for Gaffney, the redshirt junior spent two seasons at Purdue before transferring to Clemson. Last season in his first season with Clemson, Gaffney slashed .271/.357/.388, earning the former Boilermaker a .745 OPS. Gaffney added five home runs, 39 RBIs, and drew 23 walks primarily playing first base for the Tigers.

After losing in the regionals last season to WVU and Kentucky, Clemson baseball hopes to go further in its 2026 season. Clemson baseball fans got a little sneak peek at how the team will look in the 2026 season.