Furman falls to Clemson at Fluor Field

Furman hosts Clemson at Fluor Field Tuesday night.

As the calendar inches closer to the Southern Conference Baseball Tournament, Furman's search for a fourth starter continued Tuesday night at the home of the tournament. Seventh-ranked Clemson jumped on top early and went on to a 10-5 win at Fluor Field.

The final tally saddled Furman (25-23) with back-to-back losses for the first time since April 11. While the Paladins have still won 14 of their last 17 games, it's the third midweek game in a row that Furman's starter has been hit hard early.

Clemson (37-12) took the lead right off the bat Tuesday as Logan Davidson belted a leadoff homer. While the Tigers didn't hit another longball the rest of the night, they piled up a total of 15 hits and held a 9-2 lead by the fifth inning.

Clemson led 10-2 in the sixth when Furman rallied a bit. Brandon Elmy led off the bottom of the inning with his team-high 10th home run. Landon Kay singled and Cameron Whitehead doubled before an error allowed two runs to score cutting the lead in half. With two on and one out, Clemson reliever Owen Griffith came on and got Jabari Richards to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Griffith and Jeremy Beasley shut out Furman the rest of the way, preserving the win for Clemson starter Tyler Jackson (8-1). Jackson allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits, one walk and four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

Furman starter Jake Crawford (1-4) gave up three runs in his only inning of work to take the loss.

Elmy and Landon Kay, who hit his ninth homer, led the Paladins with two hits apiece.

Furman returns to action this weekend, wrapping up the SoCon - and home - portion of its schedule with a series against VMI. Game one Friday is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

The Paladins enter the series in fourth place in the SoCon with a record of 12-9. Western Carolina (13-8) and UNC Greensboro (11-7) sit slightly ahead of Furman, while Wofford (10-8) is just behind in the standings. The Paladins are trying to finish above third in the SoCon for the first time since winning the league championship in 1976.