Eighth inning dooms Tigers in ACC tourney opener |
GREENSBORO, NC – Winning the ACC Tournament is hard enough without practically handing your opponent a win, but that’s exactly what happened Thursday for Clemson.
Virginia (37-16-1) scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth, garnering only one hit in the process, in taking a 3-2 victory over Clemson (32-25) in the ACC Tournament opener for both teams at New Bridge Bank Ballpark in Greensboro. The loss to Virginia means that the only way the Tigers can make the tournament championship is if Virginia loses its final two games and the Tigers win their final two. Clemson head coach
Jack LeggettJack Leggett Baseball Head Coach View Full Profile
said Thursday’s loss was a microcosm of the entire season. “We’ve got to come up big,” Leggett said. “We have big-time players and this is a big-time tournament atmosphere. This is where we’ve got to step our game up, do better in that area. We’ve struggled with it all season long and it showed up a little bit today. They hit a ball to right and next thing I know, the inning implodes on us,” Leggett said. “A couple hit batters, couple walks, next thing I know we’re down one.” Clemson was given a gift run of their own in the top of the eighth, scoring a lone run without the benefit of a hit. That lead and all of the good feelings unraveled in the bottom of the eighth after reliever
Mike KentMike Kent RS So. RH Pitcher #15 6-0, 195 Springfield, VA View Full Profile
came in to pitch. Kent promptly recorded two quick outs, but everything unraveled after that. A single, a hit batter, and a walk loaded the bases. Leggett came to the mound, and even though reliever
Scott FirthScott Firth Jr. RH Pitcher #20 6-0, 165 Buffalo Grove, IL View Full Profile
was ready in the bullpen, Leggett elected to leave Kent in the game. Kent then hit Chris Taylor with a pitch to score the tying run, and he was then replaced by Firth, who promptly walked another hitter to make it 3-2 Cavaliers heading into the top of the ninth. The Tigers had one final chance to tie the game in the ninth when
Richie ShafferRichie Shaffer Jr. 3rd Base #8 6-3, 205 Charlotte, NC View Full Profile
drew a one-out walk, his fourth of the game. Designated hitter
Phil PohlPhil Pohl Sr. Catcher #9 5-11, 215 Cooperstown, NY View Full Profile
then grounded into a game-ending double play, leaving the Tigers to wonder how they let one get away as Virginia now owns an eight-game winning streak against the Tigers. The Cavaliers got on the board first, scratching out a single run against Gossett in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI single by Jared King. The score remained that way until the top of the 6th inning, when
Jon McGibbonJon McGibbon So. 1st Base #12 6-1, 210 Lindenhurst, NY View Full Profile
finally got Clemson on the board with a long blast to right field, a solo shot that made it 1-1. “I’ve always been an aggressive hitter early in the count,” McGibbon said. “(Kline) laid a fastball right there middle-in, and I was able to get a good piece of the bat on it and put it out of here to give us momentum.” Gossett pitched in and out of trouble all day, even leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, but kept the Virginia offense in check for most of the contest. He left with two outs in the seventh and runners at first and second, but
Joseph MoorefieldJoseph Moorefield RS Jr. LH Pitcher #51 6-1, 205 Woodruff, SC View Full Profile
came in and struck out Derek Fisher to end the threat. Gossett finished by giving up four hits, striking out six, walking six and hitting a batter while giving up just the one run. A little luck and some heads-up baserunning enabled Clemson to score its second run.
Brad FelderBrad Felder Gr. Outfielder #3 6-0, 200 Bowman, SC View Full Profile
led off the top of the eighth inning, and struck out. However, the missed third strike hit the umpire and bounced away from catcher Nate Irving. With one out, Felder stole second and scored when McGibbon’s scorcher got under the glove of Cavalier shortstop Chris Taylor and rolled into center field. The Tigers return to action at 3 p.m. Friday when they take on top-seeded Florida St., but have to find a way to correct their woes at the plate. They were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position on Thursday and have scored just five runs in their last 36 innings of play. “We had a couple opportunities,” Leggett said. “We’ve got to come up with some big two-out hits, two-out RBIs.”
Clemson vs #17 Virginia
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