CLEMSON — A fielding error by Tryston McCladdie in the top of the tenth led to five unearned runs as Miami beat Clemson 8-3, sending the Tigers to their fifth straight loss.

Clemson got nine combined hits from the six through nine batters in the lineup, including a 3-for-5 night from Tyler Lichtenberger, but the one through five hitters were just 1-of-23.

After Aidan Knaak left after 4.2 innings and with the Tigers in a 3-0 hole, Ariston Veasey came on and shut the Hurricanes down, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings. He struck out four while allowing just one hit.

Knaak allowed three runs on six hits, while walking four and striking out six.

It looked like Knaak was going to make quick work of the ‘Canes in the first. After retiring the first two hitters, the right-hander went to a 3-2 count on the third. A pitch clearly in the strike zone was called a ball, and the hitter walked. Alex Sosa then grounded one off of McCladdie’s glove at third, putting runners at first and second. A single back up the middle by Brylan West then put Miami up 1-0.

The Hurricanes (20-6, 3-4 ACC) scored two more runs in the third, getting two-out RBI hits from West and Vance Sheahan to push the lead out to 3-0.

Miami loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but Veasey came on in relief of Knaak and struck out Cian Copeland to strand all three runners.

Clemson (18-9, 1-6 ACC) finally got on the board in the bottom half of the inning. Lichtenberger singled with one out, followed by a Bryce Clavon double, putting runners at second and third. Jack Crighton then reached on an error by the first baseman, with Lichtenberger coming home to score. Nate Savoie then struck out looking for out number two. After Crighton stole second, McCladdie hit one out to the warning track in right to end the frame, stranding both runners.

After Jacob Jarrell struck out to start the bottom of the sixth, Luke Gaffney reached on an error and Ty Dalley singled into left, putting runners on first and second. A Jay Dillard single brought Gaffney around to score, cutting the Canes’ lead to one. Lichtenberger then laced a single into right, with Dalley scoring all the way from second, tying the game at 3-3. After Clavon went down swinging, Crighton lined one hard off the bat but right at the second baseman to end the inning.

Brendon Bennett came out of the bullpen to start the eighth and issued a leadoff walk. Dion Brown was then brought in to relieve the lefty. A sacrifice bunt and a grounder to second moved the runner to third with two outs. Brown then got the final out on a flyout to strand the runner at third and keep the game tied at 3-3.

Miami loaded the bases against Brown in the top of the tenth with two outs. Brown induced a sharp ground ball to third base and it looked like he might get out of the jam, but McCladdie misplayed it and it rolled into the visitor’s bullpen. All three runners came across, making it 6-3. Alex Sosa then hit a solo homer, his ninth of the season, and Derek Williams added an RBI single, making it 8-3. All five runs in the inning were unearned.

Two-Out Hitting

There was a stark contrast in two-out hitting in this one. Miami finished 8-of-18 in those situations, scoring all eight of their runs with two outs. Clemson was just 1-of-12.

Lack of Clutch Hits

Once again, the team struggled to come up with timely hits, finishing 3-of-12 with runners in scoring position.

Up Next

Game two between these two teams is set for Friday, with first pitch at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.