Blake Wright walks off the Heels in dramatic fashion as Tigers win another ACC series

Wright celebrates his walk-off hit (Photo by Merrell Mann).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri May 19 21:12:10 GMT-05:00 2023

CLEMSON – Blake Wright stroked a line drive single to left field to score Caden Grice from second as No. 6 Clemson walked off North Carolina 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth Friday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Clemson won a slugfest Thursday night to take game one, then survived a pitcher's duel Friday to not only win the series but clinch the No. 3 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament.

Game three is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. (ACCN).

The series against North Carolina ends the regular season – the ACC Tournament will be held next week in Durham. Clemson improves to 38-17 overall and 19-10 in ACC play, while North Carolina falls to 33-21 overall and 14-13 in the league.

North Carolina tied the game at 4-4 as the Tigers lost three different balls in the lights. But Grice walked with one out in the bottom of the frame and moved to second when Billy Amick was hit by a pitch. That brought up Wright, who homered twice Thursday, and Wright sent a missile to left that allowed Grice to score the winning run with ease.

The Tigers have won 17 of their last 19 ACC games and 19 of their last 22 games overall. The Tigers get the chance to sweep yet another ACC series with a win Saturday.

The Heels got on the board first, but the damage could have been worse. UNC used two singles to open the frame, but on the second single Hunter Stokely rounded the bag at first and turned around to celebrate with a fist pump. Riley Bertram threw behind him and Caden Grice put the tag on for the first out. However, starter Patrick Gordon walked the next batter and then surrendered a 3-run homer to Patrick Alvarez for a quick 3-0 UNC lead.

Benjamin Blackwell led off the bottom of the third with a double and advanced to third on a fly from Jack Crighton. Cam Cannarella and Cooper Ingle walked to load the bases, but Will Taylor struck out for the second out. Grice was then hit in the foot by a pitch to drive in a run to make it 3-1. That brought up the red-hot Billy Amick, who steered an 0-2 fastball into right for a two-run single to make 3-3.

The Tigers took the lead in the fourth. Blake Wright and Blackwell each singled on the first pitch they saw to lead off the inning, and Wright later came around to score on Cannarella’s deep fly to left and the Tigers led 4-3 after four innings.

Clemson starter Austin Gordon settled in after the three-run homer and worked five innings, giving up three runs on five hits while walking two and striking out five.

Tristan Smith came on and pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, but loaded the bases in the seventh. He was replaced by Reed Garris, who came in to pitch to North Carolina slugger Mac Horvath, who has 21 home runs on the season. Horvath send right fielder Jack Crighton to the wall, but Crighton caught the ball with his back on the wall to end the frame. Garris pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit.

Ryan Ammons came on to pitch a wild ninth. Alberto Osuna hit a high pop in front of home plate that dropped in between several fielders, but he tried for second and was thrown out at the bag. Colby Wilkerson followed with a similar high pop on the infield that was also lost in the lights and the Heels had the tying run at first. Ammons got the second out on another pop out, but a simple fly to center was lost in the lights by Cannarella and the Tar Heels scored the tying run to send the game to the bottom of the ninth.

RBI delivered by @BlakeWr86324186 brings @CadenGrice3 home for the winning run 🔥

E9 || UNC 4, CU 5

🖥 https://t.co/us4Y4D0gqB pic.twitter.com/W4jMpzpr44
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) May 20, 2023