Clemson falls to UNC in ACC tournament opener

Clemson is in serious jeopardy of missing the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season.

The Tigers dropped their ACC tournament opener against North Carolina by a score of 9-2 Tuesday night in Charlotte. With the loss, Clemson is eliminated from ACC championship contention.

No. 12 seed Clemson will face No. 1 seed Virginia Tech on Thursday, but even with a win, the best Clemson can finish is tied atop their pool.

Both UNC and Virginia Tech hold the tiebreaker over the Tigers due to seeding.

“All in all, they were the better team tonight,” Clemson coach Monte Lee said. “Certainly disappointing tonight on our side. I need to do a better job of getting our guys ready. We just didn’t play a good baseball game tonight.”

Clemson was counting on ace Mack Anglin to have a strong outing against the Tar Heels, but the righty did not have his best day on the mound.

Anglin surrendered seven hits and walked four batters in four innings of work. He also allowed seven runs, five of which were earned.

The Tigers also committed an early error, which contributed to the tough outing.

“We struggled early in the game, quite honestly,” Lee said. “We got hit some and didn’t make a play early in the game that could’ve helped Mack there, but those things happen from time to time.”

At the plate, the Tigers had five hits. But only one went for extra bases — a Caden Grice double.

Bryar Hawkins and Will Taylor drove in Clemson’s two runs. Hawkins had a sac fly in the second inning, while Taylor delivered an RBI single in the ninth.

“Just give a lot of credit to North Carolina. They played a great baseball game tonight,” Lee said. “The bottom line is they swung the bats really well tonight. They hit with runners on base. We had some opportunities early, we just couldn’t come up with a big hit with runners on base.”