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The Tigers scored five runs in the ninth inning, capped by Jeff Schaus' two-out, three-run homer, to take a one-run lead, but No. 2 North Carolina responded with two runs in the bottom of the ninth
inning to rally for a 9-8 win over No. 19 Clemson in front of 2,625 fans
at Boshamer Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
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The Tar Heels, who claimed
the series 2-1, improved to 10-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC. Clemson
dropped to 6-4 overall and 1-2 in ACC play.
Clemson trailed 7-1 entering the eighth inning and scored two runs in
that frame. Then in the ninth inning, run-scoring singles by Ben
Paulsen and Wilson Boyd set the stage for Schaus' dramatic and
towering home run to right field with two outs that gave Clemson an 8-7 lead.
But in the bottom of the ninth inning, a bloop single by Kyle Seager
and a costly throwing error on a sacrifice bunt put runners on second
and third with no outs. Two of the next three Tar Heels slapped
run-scoring, groundball singles past a drawn-in infield, capped by
pinch-hitter Greg Holt's walkoff single up the middle, to hand the
Tigers a heartbreaking defeat.
Tar Heel reliever Colin Bates (1-1) recorded the win despite allowing
three hits and three runs in 0.2 innings pitched. Starter Matt
Harvey pitched 7.0 solid innings, allowing four hits, one run, and
one walk with four strikeouts. Harman (1-1) allowed two runs (one
earned) on three hits and suffered the loss.
For the second game in a row, Clemson grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first
inning. Mike Freeman drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on
Paulsen's single through the right side. Boyd followed with a
groundout to first that plated Freeman.
In the second inning, Garrett Gore led off with a walk and Seager
followed with a single through the right side to move Gore to
third. Mark Fleury then grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, but Gore
scored on the play to tie the score 1-1.
Another leadoff walk in the third inning proved costly for the
Tigers. Mike Cavasinni led off with a walk, advanced to second on
Ryan Norton's sacrifice bunt, and went to third on Ben Bunting's
line-drive single to left-center. Levi Michael followed with a
sacrifice fly to left field to plate Cavasinni.
In the fourth inning, North Carolina added two more runs thanks in
part to several Tiger miscues. Seager and Fleury both hit one-out,
seeing-eye singles to put runners at first and third. Ryan Graepel
then blooped a ball into shallow right-center that right-fielder Kyle
Parker dropped, allowing Seager to score. Fleury and Graepel both
moved up on a wild pitch and Cavasinni walked to load the bases. Two
batters later with two outs, Chris Dwyer hit Bunting to score Fleury.
The Tar Heels kept the pressure on in the fifth inning. Gore drew a
one-out walk and advanced to third on Seager's single up the
middle. Clemson then had Seager picked off first, as the Tar Heel
was going on the pitcher's first movement. But Seager was safe at
second on the stolen base and Gore scored when Paulsen's throw went
into left field. Two batters later, Graepel singled through the
right side to plate Seager.
In the seventh inning, Seager walked with one out and advanced to
second on Fleury's groundout. Graepel then doubled to left-center to
score Seager, upping North Carolina's lead to 7-1.
However, the Tigers would not go down quietly. Freeman led off the
eighth inning with a walk. Three batters later, Parker blooped a
two-out single to left. After Jeff Schaus was hit-by-pitch to load
the bases, Matt Sanders lined a single to right field to score two runs.
In the ninth inning, Addison Johnson led off with a single through
the left side. Two batters later, Freeman walked and Paulsen
followed with a single to right field to score Johnson. Boyd then
singled up the middle to score Freeman. Two batters later with two
outs, Schaus blasted a three-run homer to right field, giving Clemson
an 8-7 lead. It was his second long ball of the series and season.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Seager led off with a bloop single
to left-center that Boyd could not hold onto after making a sliding
attempt. Fleury then laid down a bunt halfway between the mound and
first base. Harman fielded and wheeled, but his throw to first was
errant and went down the right-field line, allowing runners to move
up to second and third with no outs. Graepel then grounded a single
past the drawn-in infield to score Seager and move pinch-runner Alex
White to third base. Two batters later, Holt singled up the middle
to score White for the winning run.
Seager paced North Carolina's 13-hit attack by going 4-for-4 with
four runs. Graepel added three hits, including a double, and three
RBIs. Paulsen, Schaus, and Sanders all had two hits apiece for the
Tigers, who totaled 10 hits in the game.
The contest was Jack Leggett's 1,000th game as Clemson's head coach.
Clemson will play host to Michigan State at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on
Tuesday at 4:00 PM.
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