CLEMSON BASEBALL

ACC CHAMPIONS!!! Tigers blast Hurricanes to win ACC Championship
Clemson earned its 11th ACC Tournament title.

ACC CHAMPIONS!!! Tigers blast Hurricanes to win ACC Championship


by - Senior Writer -

DURHAM, NC – The fun is in the winning, and Clemson baseball is a lot of fun right now.

Riley Bertram and Will Taylor each hit three-run homers in an 8-run seventh inning as No. 6 Clemson came from behind to defeat No. 11 Miami 11-5 and win the ACC Championship Sunday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The Tigers trailed 5-3 before the seventh-inning explosion. Billy Amick also had a run-scoring double during the onslaught.

Clemson improves to 43-17 overall and awaits tomorrow’s NCAA Selection Show. The Tigers should be a top-eight national seed. The Tigers have won 16 in a row, 21 of 22 overall, and the championship is the 11th ACC Tournament Championship for the program. The win is also the 23rd come-from-behind win of the season.

Miami falls to 40-19.

Clemson coaches have a habit of winning the ACC in their first season – Bill Wilhelm won it in his first season in 1958, Jack Leggett won it in his first season in 1994, Monte Lee won it in 2016 in his first season, and now Erik Bakich adds his name to the list.

Clemson’s 11 ACC Tournament titles came in 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2006, 2016, and now 2023.

Once again, the Tigers jumped on top early. Cam Cannarella walked to lead off the bottom of the first, and Will Taylor reached on an infield single to put runners at first and second. Caden Grice then lined a 1-2 fastball through the hole between short and third for a run-scoring single and a 1-0 lead. Riley Bertram then lofted a single to center to score Taylor and the Tigers led 2-0 after one.

Cannarella led off the bottom of the second with a bang, slamming his sixth homer of the year over the wall in right for a 3-0 lead.

Miami got on the board and chased Clemson starter Ethan Darden in the third, putting up two runs to close to within 3-2. Darden pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on three hits while striking out four and walking none.

He was replaced by Nick Clayton, who got out of trouble in the third but then allowed a long homer off the bull in left by Miami’s Zach Levenson that tied the score at 3-3.

Miami sent eight batters to the plate in the fifth and scored two more runs – one on a bases loaded walk – to take a 5-3 lead. Clayton went 2 1/3 innings and gave up three runs.

With Miami holding all of the momentum, Clemson needed a spark. The Tigers got that spark from a few different sources. Taylor led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk, and Grice looped a single into left. The Canes went to right-handed reliever Alejandro Torres to face Billy Amick. Amick hit the first pitch he saw high off the wall in left – just missing a three-run homer – scoring Taylor to make it 5-4 Miami.

That brought up Bertram, who worked the count to 2-2 and then sent the next pitch over the wall in right-center for a 3-run homer and a 7-5 Clemson. The homer was the first for Bertram as a Tiger, and just the third of his college career (he hit two at Michigan).

The Tigers weren’t done. Blake Wright singled and was forced at second on a grounder by Benjamin Blackwell. Crighton laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Blackwell to second. Cannarella then hit a long drive to left that was misplayed by the left fielder, scoring Blackwell for an 8-5 lead. Ingle walked, and with runners at first and second, Taylor smacked a three-run homer over the wall in left for an 11-5 lead.

The homer was originally ruled in play for a double, but a review showed a Miami fan that touched it, and after it hit the fans’ hand it bounced back into play. The call was overturned and Clemson led 11-5 after seven.

Jackson Lindley pitched two solid, scoreless innings and picked up the win to improve to 3-3. Ryan Ammons pitched the last two innings to shut the door on the Canes, loading the bases up in the ninth inning but keeping Miami off the scoreboard.


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