CLEMSON — Aidan Knaak struck out a season-high nine hitters, while Nate Savoie, Jack Crighton and Jackson Moore all went deep as Clemson took down No. 6 North Carolina 9-5 in the series-opener on Friday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Knaak went a season-high six innings in picking up his second win (2-3), allowing two runs on seven hits. The nine strikeouts were the most by any Clemson pitcher this season.

Moore had himself a night at the plate for the Tigers, finishing with a career high four runs driven in and the first homer of his collegiate career.

Savoie also helped pace the offense, with his solo homer in the fifth putting Clemson up for good. He was 3-for-4 with a walk and scored three times. Crighton’s two-run blast in the sixth provided some insurance, with the right-fielder finishing 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Moore drove in four runs, including his first career homer in the seventh.

Clemson (23-12, 5-8 ACC) had an opportunity to get on the board early, but Savoie was thrown out at home in the bottom of the first attempting to score from first on a Luke Gaffney double into the gap in right-center. In the second, Jacob Jarrell advanced to third with just one out, but a strikeout by Jason Fultz and a pop out by Moore left him stranded there.

The Tar Heels (28-6-1, 11-5) would get on the board in the bottom of the third. After loading the bases with no outs, Macon Winslow hit into a 6-4-3 double play, plating the runner at third and making it 1-0.

In the bottom half of the inning, Savoie walked with one out. Crighton followed with a double into the gap in left-center, and a fielding error would allow Savoie to come all the way around to score to tie it up at 1-1. Gaffney then reached on an error, and Jarrell walked to load the bases, but Tyler Lichtenberger would foul out on a 3-2 pitch, stranding all three runners.

Savoie hit a monster 435-foot solo shot out to center in the bottom of the fifth, giving Clemson its first lead. It was Savoie’s 11th homer of the season. The Tigers would eventually load the bases with just one out, prompting UNC to bring in Camron Seagraves out of the bullpen. Lichtenberger then laced a 3-1 pitch the other way into left, plating the runner from third. After Fultz struck out, Moore hit a two-strike, two-run single into right, pushing the lead out to 5-1.

North Carolina got a run back in the sixth after an RBI double by Owen Hull plated Macon Winslow to make it 5-2. The Heels would load the bases with one out, but Knaak got a strikeout and a flyout to escape any further damage.

Crighton’s second home run of the season, a two-run shot in the bottom half of the sixth, pushed the Tigers’ lead out to five at 7-2.

Moore’s first career homer, a two-run shot out to right in the seventh, gave the Tigers a 9-2 advantage.

UNC’s Jake Schaffner’s solo homer in the eighth made it 9-3. Colin Hynek’s two-run homer in the ninth made it 9-5.

Coming Up Clutch

Timely hits have been an issue for the Tigers much of the season, but that was not the case in this one. Clemson had seven extra-base hits, and the team was 7-of-16 with runners on base. The Tigers had three two-out hits and were 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

First Road Loss

Clemson handed the Heels their first road loss of the season. North Carolina was 7-0 in road games coming into Friday.

Up Next

Game two on Saturday is scheduled for 2 p.m. at DKS.