CLEMSON — A five-run fifth inning propelled Duke to an 8-4 win over No. 9 Clemson on Sunday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers have dropped three consecutive ACC series and lost nine of their last 12 games.

BJ Bailey got the start and took the loss (2-4), getting roughed up to the tune of seven runs on nine hits in just 4.1 innings. The seven runs allowed tied a career-high for the lefty. Nathan Dvorsky relieved Bailey in the fifth and pitched a career-high 2.2 innings, striking out seven of the nine Blue Devil hitters he faced.

Luke Gaffney finished 2-for-4 and drove in two runs, while Jacob Jarrell also had an RBI.

Clemson (38-15, 15-12 ACC) got on the board first. After Josh Paino led off the bottom of the second with a single, Dominic Listi doubled, putting runners at second and third with nobody out. A Jarrell fielder’s choice scored the Tigers’ first run of the day, before Gaffney laced an RBI single into left to make it 2-0.

The Blue Devils (36-16, 16-11 ACC) tied it up in the top of the fourth. Jake Hyde hit a massive solo home run out to right, his 10th of the season for Duke’s first run. Later in the inning, with one out and with runners on the corners, Macon Winslow laid down a bunt that scored the runner from third, making it 2-2.

Bailey walked the leadoff hitter in the fifth, then surrendered a double, giving Duke runners at second and third with no outs. A sacrifice fly would give the Blue Devils their first lead of the day. Bailey then hit the next hitter, putting runners at first and second, still only one out. Hyde then hit his second bomb of the day, a 450-foot three-run shot. Tyler Albright followed that with a solo shot, putting the Tigers in a 7-2 hole.

Duke added an insurance run in the eighth, making it 8-2.

Clemson got a sacrifice fly from Gaffney in the bottom of the ninth, his second RBI of the contest, and a RBI double from Jarren Purify to make it 8-4.

Sputtering Offense

After scoring 19 runs over the first two games of the series, the Tigers managed just two in the finale. Clemson had just seven base hits, with three of those coming in the two-run second. The team was just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and only had one two-out hit.

Playing Way Out of Hosting

Despite coming into Sunday sitting at No. 9 in the RPI, the Tigers have all but played their way out of a national seed. After its win Friday night, Clemson was back up to fourth in the ACC standings, but after losing on Saturday, the Tigers had fallen into a fifth-place tie with Duke. The Blue Devils’ win on Sunday now puts them a full game ahead of Clemson in the standings, and they own the tiebreaker.

Clemson will need a sweep of Pitt next weekend to get to 18 conference wins and that might be what it takes to keep any hopes of hosting alive.