Clemson beats the Tar out of the Heels to advance to ACC Championship

Cam Cannarella had two triples in the win (Photo by Merrell Mann).

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Sat May 27 16:09:30 GMT-05:00 2023

DURHAM, NC – Neither rain, nor wind, nor gloom of day, nor opposing teams shall keep these hot Tigers from their appointed runs.

Can the Tigers deliver one more time in Durham?

After dispensing seventh-seeded North Carolina 10-4 in a rain-soaked game and ending the Heels' seven-game win streak in the ACC Baseball Tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, the Tigers will face Miami Sunday afternoon with an ACC Championship and automatic qualifier berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line.

Clemson has now won 15 straight and 20 of its last 21 games. Clemson is now 42-17 overall on the season and has solidified its spot as a top-eight national seed in the NCAA Tournament (and maybe even a top-five seed). North Carolina falls to 35-22.

All but one Clemson starter had a hit in the game. Billy Amick and Blake Wright hit home runs, while Cam Cannarella had two triples. Cooper Ingle – who started in right field – had three hits on the day before exiting the game after fouling a ball off his knee.

Caden Grice pitched seven innings in the win to improve to 8-1 on the season. He gave up three runs – all earned on four hits. He walked one and struck out nine in 93 total pitches.

North Carolina used eight pitchers on the day, including starter Connor Bovair who picked up the loss. Bovair was pulled with just two outs in the first inning. He gave up five runs – all earned – on five hits, including a double and two home runs. He threw just 25 total pitches.

Clemson's offense started the game off with a bang. Ingle roped a single left field and advanced to second on a bunt by Taylor that landed in no man's land to put runners on first and second with just one out. Grice continued his hot hitting in the tournament with a hard-hit double to right field that scored both runners.

Amick followed with a monster home run off the Bull in left field – the first player to hit a homer off the Bull in this season's tournament. Two batters later, Wright hit a homer that snuck over the wall in right field. Clemson led 5-0 after the first inning.

North Carolina answered with a run in the second when Hunter Stokely doubled to right-center to plate Johnny Castagnozzi from second and trimmed the Tigers' lead to 5-1.

Ingle singled up the middle to lead off the third inning. Taylor followed with a five-pitch walk to put two on with nobody out. With one out, Amick hit a rocket off the wall in straight-away center for a triple, scoring both runners and extending Clemson's lead to 7-1 after two innings.

Alberto Osuna launched a solo shot to right center for the Tar Heels' second run of the game to cut Clemson's lead to 8-2 in the fifth.

Tomas Frick hit the 1-1 pitch over the left field wall, just missing the bulling for another North Carolina solo homer to edge close to Clemson at 8-3 in the sixth inning.

A single by Riley Bertram and a walk by Jacob Jarrell put runners on the corners with two outs. Cannarella hit his second triple of the day to the left field corner, and both runs scored to extend Clemson's lead to 10-3 through six innings.

Frick added a homer in the 9th to account for the final score.

Sunday's ACC Championship game will be played at noon and broadcast on ESPN2. Miami defeated No. 1 Wake Forest 7-2 Saturday afternoon to advance.