Bring Out the Brooms: Clemson Takes Down Pittsburgh to Finish the Regular Season With a Sweep
- Luke O'Reilly
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Tigers sweep in the Steel City..
The Clemson Tigers closed out the regular season against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the final game of a three-game weekend set, looking for the sweep. Clemson took an 8-0 lead in the third inning and held on to win 13-6. Joe Allen picked up the win for Clemson to improve his record to 4-0 on the season. Aidan Coleman was charged with the loss, after allowing six runs in 2.1 innings pitched. Clemson finishes the regular season 41-15 overall and 18-12 within the ACC, while Pittsburgh falls to 27-26 and 10-20 within conference play.
Priest Puts Clemson On the Board: Clemson Extends Lead in the Second
The Tigers got on the board in the first inning once again, to take an early two-run lead. The inning started with a first pitch single and a stolen base from Cam Cannarella. After Jarren Purify’s flyout to right field advanced Cannarella to third, the powerful Collin Priest stepped up to the dish. Priest sent the 1-0 pitch from Aidan Coleman 469 feet over the batter’s eye in center field to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. That moonshot from Priest was his 11th home run on the season, which is the second-most on the team behind Jacob Jarrell. In the second inning, Jack Crighton led off with a triple to right field and TP Wentworth worked a four pitch walk to put runners on the corners for Andrew Ciufo. The New York native grounded into a double play, but Crighton was able to score making it a 3-0 ballgame.
Clemson Blows it Open in the Third
Clemson took a huge lead in the top of the third inning, hitting two more home runs to go out in front by eight. The inning started with a walk and a stolen base from Jarren Purify, and a base hit from Josh Paino to put runners on the corners for Dominic Listi. The Tigers left fielder roped his fourth home run of the season over the right field wall to give Clemson a six-run lead. But the damage wasn’t done there as Jacob Jarrell went back-to-back with Listi for his team-high 13th blast of the year to put Clemson up 7-0. After a Jack Crighton double and wild pitch moved him up to third base, TP Wentworth hit an RBI groundout to score Crighton and make it an 8-0 game heading to the bottom of the third.
Clemson Makes it 10 in the Fifth
The Tigers pushed their lead up to double digits in the top of the fifth inning, as they scored two runs. The inning started with a walk from Jacob Jarrell and a double from Jack Crighton, his second of the day, to bring up TP Wentworth. The Tigers freshman worked his second walk of the day to load the bases. After Andrew Ciufo’s lineout to second base, the clutch Cam Cannarella stepped up with the bases loaded and one out. The Tigers superstar hit a ground ball down the first base line, which took a lucky hop over the first baseman’s head to bring home two runners and make it a 10-0 game.
Talan Bell’s Impressive Outing
With Joe Allen entering the game in the top of the fifth inning, Talan Bell’s day was complete after four dominant innings. The Tigers freshman allowed no runs, three hits and one walk, while striking out three batters. In his first ACC start, Bell was knocked around by Florida State, pitching just 1.1 innings and allowing four runs. But today, Bell proved that he can pitch against ACC competition with his strong four innings.
Pittsburgh Cuts Into the Deficit; Clemson Scores in the Seventh
The Panthers finally found their way onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut into the Clemson deficit. The rally started with two outs as David Pedanou and Luke Cantwell walked to put runners on second and first for Caden Dulin. The Panthers second baseman came through with an RBI single up the middle to make it a 10-1 ballgame. In the sixth inning, Pittsburgh was able to scratch their way even closer. The inning started with a double by Sebastian Pisacreta to bring up Jayden Melendez with two outs. The Panthers designated hitter clobbered one over the batter’s eye in center field to cut the Clemson lead down to seven. But the Panthers weren’t done there as Jake Kendro made it back-to-back home runs for Pittsburgh to make it a 10-4 ballgame heading into the seventh inning.
The Tigers kept their foot on the gas after the Panthers three-run sixth inning, to extend the lead back to seven. The inning started with yet another Cam Cannarella base hit and a stolen base to put a runner on second with one out. After Jarren Purify’s groundout to second base moved Cannarella to third, Collin Priest stepped up with a chance to bring home the Tigers superstar. Priest did just that with a base hit up the middle to score Cannarella and make it an 11-4 ballgame.
Pittsburgh Plates One in the Eighth; Clemson Scores Two in the Ninth
The Panthers were able to cut into the Clemson deficit in the bottom of the eighth inning with a run. The inning started with a single by Julian Irizarry and a walk to Jayden Melendez to put runners on second and first with one out. After Jake Kendro’s single loaded the bases and knocked Nathan Dvorsky out of the game, Lucas Mahlstedt entered to clean up the mess. A sacrifice fly from David Pedanou was all the Panthers would get as they made it an 11-5 ballgame. In the ninth inning, Clemson scored two runs off of a Collin Priest single up the middle, which made it a 13-5 game. Lucas Mahlstedt allowed a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the Tigers won the ballgame 13-6.
Takeaways: Tigers Sweep
The Long Ball - Small ball was the theme of yesterday’s game for the Tigers, but in today’s game both teams used the long ball to their advantage. Both teams combined for five home runs, with the Tigers hitting three of them. Six of the Tigers 13 runs came via the long ball as Dominic Listi, Collin Priest, and Jacob Jarrell all went deep. This Clemson offense can hurt a pitching staff in multiple ways, either through stringing together hits, playing small ball with bunts and stolen bases, or going yard.
The Offense - This whole series the Clemson offense has looked like it has finally come back to life. With 14 hits in each of the last two games and 17 in today’s game, Clemson combined for 45 hits over the course of this three game series. Those 45 hits are the most the Tigers have accumulated during an ACC series this season. Have the Tigers decided to get hot at the perfect moment, as they head into ACC play next week?
Up Next - The ACC Tournament starts on Tuesday, May 20. Clemson will play on Wednesday, May 21, in the Second Round.
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