The last time Daniel Lynch was one the mound for Virginia, he gave up nine runs on 10 hits in four and 1/3 innings. Unfortunately for ninth-ranked Clemson that was in last week’s game against North Carolina.

On Friday night in Game 1 of the three-game series, Lynch looked more like Tommy Glavine as he baffled Clemson batters for 7 2/3 innings as No. 11 Virginia topped the Tigers 2-0 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

“He had a really good changeup and he located his fastball into right-handed hitters,” Clemson head coach Monte Lee said. “When you have a left-handed pitcher that locates fastballs into righties and he locates his changeup away, it makes it very, very difficult.

“If you are going to sit on a changeup away on that side of the plate and you are going to take that changeup away from him. He is going to eat you alive from that side of the plate with fastballs and he threw a lot of back-to-back changeups at 79 miles an hour and then he would throw a fastball in at 92. So when you see 79, 79 and then your eyes see 92 in, it looks like 96.”

Lynch induced 12 ground ball outs as he held the Tigers to just four hits in the victory. It marked the second time the Tigers were shutout this season. The other came against South Carolina on March 3. Clemson went 92 straight games without being shut out before the South Carolina game.

“There are certain guys that are more capable (of hitting) and I think they will get going as the season progresses,” Lee said. “There is only way to get players going. You have to put them in the lineup and you have to keep playing them. You have to believe in them and that is the bottom line. I believe in our players and I believe in our players and I do think we are going to be a team that gets better as the year progresses.”

Clemson starter Charlie Barnes matched Lynch pitch-for-pitch as he went 8 1/3 innings of work. He allowed just six hits, while striking seven and walking one.

The only mistake Barnes made was when he left a ball up in the strike zone on a 3-1 offering and Virginia’s Pavin Smith took it to right field for what turned out to the eventual game-winner.

“It was a 3-1 pitch. We called fastball in the middle and I did not know or not if I wanted to do it in or out,” Barnes said. “I went in for the second time in a row and he just turned on it. He is a good hitter and he just put a good swing on it.”

The Cavaliers (15-3) scored an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning to secure the victory. It was their 26 win over the Tigers in the last 33 meetings, dating back to 2004. Virginia has won 13 of the last 16 games in the series since 2010.

Tommy Doyle earned the save for the Cavaliers.

“A hand full of pitches pretty much dictated this game,” Lee said. “You have to give Virginia credit because they were better in those situations than we were.”

With one out, the Tigers, who saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end, loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth inning when Drew Wharton singled up the middle and advanced to second on a throwing error. After Adam Renwick pinch-ran for Wharton and got to third on another Virginia throwing error, Jordan Greene tried to squeeze Renwick home, but instead he popped up to catcher for the second out.

“I did not think there was really anybody that I could put into that spot that I would have wanted up there,” Lee said. “There was not anybody on the bench that I would have pinch hit for to run a safety squeeze, no.”

Lynch eventually walked Seth Beer to load the bases with two outs, but Virginia third baseman Justin Novak made a diving stop in the hole between second and third on a Chris Williams’ grounder to throw beer out at second base.

Clemson and Virginia will play Game 2 on Saturday at 1 p.m.