By Trey McCurry.

By Trey McCurry

DURHAM— Here is a look back at 12-7, 14-inning setback to North Carolina on Friday night in the ACC Baseball Championship at Durham Bulls Athletic Park:

What happened?

North Carolina scored five runs in the ninth inning, including a two-out, three-run homer by Brian Holberton, to tie the score and then broke through with five more runs in the 14th inning to take a 12-7 win over Clemson at the ACC Baseball Championship. With the loss, Clemson fell to 0-2 in the tournament and 39-19 on the season.

Game-Changing Moment:

There were several big moments in the game, but the biggest for the Tigers came in the bottom of the 13th inning. With runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs, Thomas Brittle ended a great at-bat with a hard line drive that headed for right field that was snagged by North Carolina first baseman Cody Stubbs to end the threat. The Tar Heels would go on to score five runs in the 14th inning and put the game out of reach. 

Story Line:

After North Carolina jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Clemson battled back to take a 7-2 lead heading to the ninth inning. After the Tar Heels battled back to tie the game and send it to extra innings, the Tigers left the potential winning run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth, 11th, 12th, and 13th innings and came up empty each time. North Carolina finally broke the tie in the 14th inning with five runs on four hits to put the game away.

What went right?

Clemson battled the entire game. Zack Erwin had a solid start, allowing two runs on just five hits in 5.1 innings. The Tiger freshman continued to come up big as Maleeke Gibson had two hits and an RBI, Steven Duggar had a two-run triple, Tyler Krieger had a run-scoring single, and Mike Triller went 2-for-3 with two RBI.

What went wrong?

Clemson was again unable to come up with the big base hit when they needed it the most as they stranded 16 runners and were unable to put the pesky Tar Heels away. The Tigers led 7-2 and just needed three outs to win, but North Carolina battled and scored five runs on four hits in the ninth, including a two-out homer against Clemson closer Scott Firth.

They said it:

Clemson Head Coach Jack Leggett:

“It’s a tough ballgame, that’s all there is to it. We played hard. Zack (Erwin) pitched really well for us early on in the ballgame and Patrick Andrews did a great job. We’re right where we need to be and just couldn’t hold on to it. We had some opportunities in the extra innings there and they did a good job battling back and doing what they had to do to get themselves back in the ballgame. We had the right guys where we wanted them and just didn’t get the job done tonight.”

Clemson outfielder Mike Triller:

“Coach gave me the opportunity today and I just went out there and gave it my best and got a couple hits. I was just trying to do whatever I could to help the team.”

Clemson outfielder Steven Duggar:

“It’s frustrating because it’s not over until the last out. They were able to build an inning and capitalize on it. It’s just frustrating.”