On a beautiful spring afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, it was a perfect day for baseball, but not for the Clemson Tigers, as they dropped the series 2-1 to the No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels on Sunday.
Going into the game with the series tied 1-1, the pressure was high for the Tigers. The crowd was passionate, as cheering and heckling filled the stands throughout the game. The series win was within reach, but Clemson couldn’t pull it off, suffering a devastating 12-5 loss.
North Carolina, 30-6-1, 13-5 in the ACC, wasted no time and immediately put two runs across the plate with a single to right field, followed by a home run to left-center.
Clemson, 23-14, 5-10 in the ACC, responded in the second inning with a single up the middle from Jacob Jarrell, then an RBI double by Jason Fultz Jr. with two outs.
The game was close until the Tar Heels made their big fourth-inning push, taking a six-run lead. A single to left field was followed by a line drive back to Drew Titsworth, which struck him on his throwing side in the area of his ribcage and forced him to exit the game. Joe Allen entered the game to pitch in relief.
UNC continued its dominance, eventually loading the bases and scoring two additional runs. Owen Hull then broke the inning open with a three-run home run down the right field line. After the damage was done, Allen was replaced by Landon Fowler, who managed to get out of the inning.
Clemson came back alive in the sixth, with three runs from Tyler Lichtenberger, Jackson Moore and Bryce Clavon.
A triple from Clavon down the right field line brought home Lichtenberger and Moore, and Clavon was brought home by Nate Savoie’s single. Despite the rally, the Tar Heels were still up by five runs. Coach Erik Bakich was blunt about the problems.
“We need to play better, we need to compete better, we need to coach better and we need to just get over the hump and figure out a way to do that and do it fast,” Bakich said postgame. “Because this is an unforgiving league. It’ll chew you up and spit you out.”
UNC continued to add on, while Clemson stayed steady but couldn’t close the gap. Clemson struggled to find consistency on the mound with a total of six hit-by-pitches and seven pitching changes throughout the game.
Bakich reflected on the season’s unfortunate turn.
“And we’ve found that out the hard way too many times, where we’ve had games and leads late and games within our grasp that we just haven’t gotten it done,” he said. “So ultimately, even bigger picture, it’s on me,”
Bakich later mentioned Clemson baseball’s history in reference to the season.
“You know, again, I was here in 2002. I saw Clemson baseball at its best. That’s burned into my mind,” Bakich said. “I will never be able to unsee that and unexperience that. So what I felt and saw in 2002, to me, is what Clemson baseball needs to get back to.”
Following the loss, the Tigers will hit the road on Tuesday to take on Charlotte at 6:05 p.m. at Truist Field in Charlotte, North Carolina.
