Louisville smacks seven homers to defeat Clemson in ACC tourney |
A barrage of homers will keep Clemson from making a run at the ACC Championship and a possible appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 7 seed Louisville hit seven home runs, three by Alex Binelas, and defeated No. 11 seed Clemson 15-10 at Truist Field in Charlotte. The teams hit an ACC Championship-record combined 11 home runs. Clemson needed to win the ACC Tournament to ensure an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but with the loss won’t make the ACC Championship and the Tigers will now likely miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008. The loss also ensures Clemson its first losing season since 1957. Clemson falls to 24-27 with the loss while Louisville improves to 28-21. Clemson plays Georgia Tech at 7 pm Wednesday. The Tigers will be the home team in what will be the last game of the season. The 15 runs scored by Louisville ties for the most runs the Cardinals scored in a game this season (also scoring 15 against Duke). Caden Grice became the ninth Tiger and first since 2018 (Logan Davidson) to hit two home runs in an ACC Tournament game, while Adam Hackenberg went 4-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs and three runs. Bryce Teodosio added a homer, double and four RBIs as well. It didn’t take the Tigers long to get on the board against Louisville starter Kaleb Corbett. James Parker drew a two-out walk, bringing up Caden Grice. Grice had a series to remember against the Cardinals when the Tigers swept Louisville in early May, totaling 12 RBIs over the three-game series, including a three home run performance on Friday night. Grice tallied an additional two RBIs on four hits in the series finale. Grice continued his hot streak against the Cards, driving an 0-2 pitch over the wall in left-center for a 2-0 lead. The Cardinals tied the score against Tiger starter Keyshawn Askew in the bottom of the frame, scoring two runs on two hits and a hit batter. The Tigers re-took the lead in the top of the second. Davis Sharpe reached on an error to lead off the inning, and Dylan Brewer was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. Catcher Adam Hackenberg ripped a 1-0 pitch into left field for a single, scoring Sharpe for the 3-2 lead. Bryce Teodosio followed that with a double down the left-field line to score both runners for a 5-2 lead. Once again, the Cardinals answered in the bottom of the inning. Cameron Masterman walked with one out, and two batters later Ben Metzinger hit a two-run homer to left that made it 5-4 Clemson after two innings. Grice led off the third inning with another blast. Louisville replaced Corbett with lefty Evan Webster, whose 2-2 pitch was drilled over the wall and out of the stadium in right for a 6-4 lead. The homer was the sixth of the season – with 15 RBI – for Grice against the Cards in 2021. Following the theme of the day, Louisville catcher Henry Davis, considered by many to be a top-five pick in this year’s MLB Draft, hit an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right for his 13th homer of the season. With the score 6-5 and no outs in the third, Askew was replaced by Mac Anglin. Anglin got one out, but Binelas hammered a 3-1 pitch over the wall in left to tie the score at 6-6. The fourth was a replay of the earlier innings. Hackenberg led off the inning with as single to right, and Teodosio smoked an 0-1 pitch deep over the wall in left for an 8-6 Tiger lead. The wheels started to come off for the Tigers in the fourth. Davis and Metzinger each homered as part of a three-run inning that saw the Cardinals take a 9-8 lead. The Cardinals added a run in the fifth and then scored four in the sixth – three on Binelas’ second homer of the day – to go ahead 14-9. Hackenberg hit his second homer of the season for the Tigers in the top of the sixth. Hackenberg then lined an RBI single to score Davis Sharpe to make it 14-10 in the eighth, but Binelas homered again in the bottom of the inning to make it 15-10. Webster (2-1) earned the win in relief, while Anglin (2-6) suffered the loss.
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
