Instant Replay: Clemson 5, North Carolina 4
By: trey-mccurry March 11, 2019

The Clemson Insider looks back at No. 20 Clemson’s 5-4 walk-off win over No. 3 North Carolina on Sunday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

 

What happened?
The Tar Heels (12-4, 0-3 ACC) scored the game’s first run with an unearned run in the fourth inning to take a 1-0 lead. The Tigers (12-3, 3-0 ACC) answered back in the fifth as Bryce Teodosio hit a one-out solo homer to tie the game and later in the inning Clemson would take the lead as Sam Hall worked a one-out walk and came all the way around to score on a Logan Davidson RBI double to make it 2-1. The lead did not last long as North Carolina hit a solo homer in the sixth to tie the game at 2-2. The Tar Heels would reclaim the lead in the eighth inning with two runs on three hits to take a 4-2 lead. The Tigers answered back with a run in the eighth on a passed ball to cut the deficit to 4-3. In the ninth, Clemson made two quick outs before Hall doubled and Davidson gave the Tigers the three-game series sweep with a walk-off homer to right field.

Game-Changing Moment:
In a game that saw several momentum swings, Clemson had the biggest one at the end thanks to the bat of Davidson. Trailing by one and down to their last out, Hall hit a hustle double to put the tying run in scoring position. Davidson would work to a 2-2 count to have the Tigers down to their last strike before hitting a no-doubt homer to give Clemson their first three-game sweep over North Carolina since 1997.

What went right?
Davidson had two hits with a game three RBI. Hall, Byrd, and Sharpe also had two each hits in the Tigers 11-hit attack. Kyle Wilkie had a hit to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Keyshawn Askew had a good first weekend start, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits in 5.1 innings. Carson Spiers did not have his best stuff, but battled over the final two innings to earn his first win of the season.

What went wrong?
Clemson committed two errors in the contest, one of which led to an unearned run in the fourth inning. The Tigers also struggled in some late game situations as they put the first two batters on in the eighth inning but then could not put the ball in play (luckily they were still able pick up a run on a wild pitch and later a passed ball).