Hurricanes rally comes up short as No. 3 Clemson holds on for 3-2 victory
The Miami Hurricanes were one swing away.
One night after their fourth walk-off of the year, Miami almost found some more Mark Light Magic.
This time, Clemson reliever Drew Titsworth stranded the tying tally 90 feet away and the winning run at first base, as the third-ranked Tigers evened the series with a 3-2 win Friday evening.
“In a one-run game, the little things matter,” head coach J.D. Arteaga said. “Against good teams, when you have opportunities to score runs, you have to take advantage.”
For the second straight game, the Hurricanes (15-11, 6-5 ACC) were able to keep Clemson (23-3, 6-2 ACC) in check.
Miami starter Rafe Schlesinger tossed a co-career-long seven innings, retiring the final 10 Tigers he faced.
“He was able to minimize damage early,” Arteaga said “He settled in and did a really great job.”
But Clemson’s three early runs proved to be the difference.
The Tigers tacked on a pair of tallies in the first before adding on another run in the fourth.
Miami junior second baseman Dorian Gonzalez Jr. put the Hurricanes on the board with his team-leading 32nd RBI to cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the first.
In the fourth, sophomore first baseman Jason Torres singled up the middle to pull Miami within one, but the Clemson bullpen would hold the Hurricanes there.
Graduate student right-hander Nick Clayton (2-0) tossed three shutout innings in relief to earn the win, while junior right-hander Austin Gordon (2) locked down the game with a 1-2-3 ninth.
The Hurricanes and Tigers will decide the series Saturday. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at Mark Light Field.
“We didn’t quite play well enough to win today,” Arteaga said. “We need to come out tomorrow and play a clean game against a very good team that’s not going to beat themselves. We can’t beat ourselves. When we have opportunities to score runs, we have to take full advantage of those situations.”
