Clemson 10 — Virginia Tech 8 (Game Summary)
- It wasn’t easy, but nothing this season has been for the Tigers. However, Clemson was able to hold off a furious ninth-inning rally from the Hokies to record its 31st win of the season
- After being held to a total of two runs through the first games of the weekend series in Blacksburg, Clemson unleashed some frustration in the regular season finale on Saturday. However, it took a moment to crank up the level of annoyance
- Virginia Tech came out ready to finish off a sweep of the Tigers by scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Hokies hit two HRs in the inning: a solo shot by Ethan Gibson and a 3-run blast by Hudson Lutterman to jump out in front 4-0
- VT bookended the game with four runs in the first and three in the bottom of the ninth. In between, Clemson’s offense was the highlight
- The Tigers scored in the second, third, seventh, eighth, and ninth. Recorded 10 runs on 14 hits with 3 HRs (Jarren Purify, Luke Gaffney, and Jack Crighton)
- The third inning was big for Clemson as the Tigers scored five runs on four hits. Nate Savoie hit a run-scoring single, then Luke Gaffney blasted a three-run homer, his ninth of the season, to give Clemson a 5-4 lead. The Tigers capped the inning with a run on a double steal as Tyler Lichtenberger stole home with Crighton swiping second
- With the score 10-5 entering the bottom of the ninth, the home team gave the fans quite a finish. Virginia Tech got runners to second and third with only one out before scoring a run on a fielding error by the Tigers. With the bases loaded and two outs, Henry Cooke drove in a pair of runs with a base hit up the middle. Then, after Ethan Ball was hit by a pitch to load ’em up once again, Clemson reliever Peyton Miller recorded the final out on a fly ball to center to preserve the win and record his first save of the season
- With the win, Clemson locks up the 15th seed for next week’s ACC Tournament in Charlotte. The Tigers finished 10-20 in the league and hold the tiebreaker over Duke (9-20) by virtue of their one win over Georgia Tech while the Blue Devils were swept by the Yellow Jackets. Clemson will face the #10 seed at 5pm on Tuesday at Truist Field in Uptown Charlotte