Virginia broke a 4-4 tie with a single run in the 7th, then added three more runs in the 8th, in taking an 8-4 win over Clemson Saturday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The teams have split the first two games in the series and will play the rubber game Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM.
The Cavaliers built a 3-0 lead off Clemson starter Keyshawn Askew in the 2nd. Clemson battled back to tie the game over the next four innings. Caden Grice and Keir Meredith each homered and James Parker had a RBI single. Virginia took 4-3 lead in the top of the 6th but the Tigers tied it in the bottom of the frame on a homer by Adam Hackenburg. But that would be Clemson’s last run.
Zack Gelof provided what turned out to be the winning run with a solo homer in the 7th, and Chris Newell provided insurance with a three run homer in the 8th. Newell had five RBIs on the night.
Virginia’s bullpen allowed two baserunners, one via a hit, the other via a walk, over the final three innings. Cavalier closer Blake Bales pitched the final two innings and still has not allowed an earned run this season.
Askew allowed seven hits and four runs over 5.2 innings. Nick Clayton gave up the runs in the 6th and 7th innings and took the loss to fall to 4-1. The Tigers are now 15-13 overall and 9-8 in the ACC.
