Bissetta's single walks off High Point in Regional opener

Bissetta is drenched by his teammates (Photo by Merrell Mann).

David Hood - Senior Writer - Friday, May 31 2024

CLEMSON – The fastest Tristan Bissetta ran all night was away from his teammates in celebration.

Bissetta’s single scored Blake Wright from second and gave No. 1 seed Clemson a 4-3 victory over No. 4 High Point in the second game of the Clemson Regional Friday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The Tigers advance to the winner’s bracket game against Coastal Carolina at 5 pm Saturday (ESPN+), while High Point takes on Vanderbilt in the loser’s bracket at noon Saturday.

Wright led off the bottom of the ninth with a double inside the bag at first, and the Panthers intentionally walked Cam Cannarella. Jimmy Obertop struck out, but Bissetta laced a sharp liner off of the glove of the second baseman. Wright hesitated to see if the ball would be caught, but as soon as the ball ricocheted into right field, Wright raced around for the score.

Bissetta rounded first, saw several of his teammates in pursuit with an ice bucket and water bottles, and made it to short left field before he was surrounded and drenched.

"Tough game. High Point is incredibly gritty, and they gave us everything we could handle," head coach Erik Bakich said. "Luckily we got a good start from Tristan Smith. I thought he was attacking the strike zone and really did a good job of giving us a chance and keeping a good offense down. The relief pitching was good as well. And then pitching, defense, timely hitting, postseason baseball, and not a timelier hit than a walk-off game-winner by Tristan Bissetta. Just a huge clutch hit and a big moment. So, we have to be better offensively tomorrow. We left too many guys on base. We didn't execute with runners and scoring position as well as we would've liked to, but we got it done at the end, and that's really all that matters."

Bissetta showed up to postgame interviews drenched.

"I'm completely soaked. I got three buckets and a little bit of water from coach, so yeah, absolutely soaked, but totally worth it," Bissetta said. "Wanted to do it for the guys."

The teams were scoreless until the bottom of the third. Jacob Hinderleider led off the bottom of the inning with a one-out single to left-center and moved to second on a groundout by Wright. Cannarella worked the count to 3-1 and then pushed a single into right to score Hinderleider for a 1-0 lead.

The Panthers answered in the top of the fourth. Konni Durschlag reached on a botched play at first and quickly moved to second on a passed ball. Cael Chatham laced a liner at Alden Mathes in right, and Mathes’ first step was the wrong one, and the ball sailed over his head. He had trouble picking it up, so Durschlag scored, and Chatham moved to second. Adam Stuart followed with an RBI single, and High Point led 2-1.

The Tigers tied it up in the bottom of the frame. Bissetta laced a double to right and moved to third on Jack Crighton’s single. Head coach Erik Bakich called timeout with Jarren Purify heading to the plate, and the result was Purify laying a bunt down in front of the plate. Gus Hughes, the Panthers’ starting pitcher, gloved the ball in time to get Bissetta at home but tossed it over the catcher’s head, allowing the run to score and tie the game at 2-2.

The Panthers used two singles and a wild pitch to score a run in the sixth and take a 3-2 lead, chasing Smith. Smith was excellent in the start, pitching 5 1/3 innings and giving up just one earned run. He struck out nine and walked none. Reed Garris relieved Smith and got out of further trouble.

The Tigers struck back in the bottom of the sixth but should have had more. Crighton reached on a throwing error to lead off the inning and moved to second on Jacob Jarrell’s double. Purify laced a single to center to score Crighton and tie the score at 3-3. But Mathes flew out, Hinderleider struck out wildly, and Wright rolled out to end the inning.

Hughes was stellar for the Panthers. He pitched seven strong innings and threw 118 pitches, 77 of them for strikes. He held Clemson to just two earned runs, struck out seven and walked two.

The relievers for both teams held the opposition at bay, and Austin Gordon stranded the go-ahead run at third in the ninth. That brought up the Tigers.

What a way to end the game!

Tristan Bissetta hits it 109 mph off the bat and Blake Wright sprints home to get us the win!#Clemson #Team127 pic.twitter.com/AW9p1DcZrL
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) June 1, 2024