Another day, another ninth-inning rally for top-seeded Regional host Clemson.
Cam Cannarella hit a go-ahead RBI sacrifice fly in the ninth inning off Cameron Flukey to give Clemson a 4-3 win over third-seeded Coastal Carolina at the Clemson Regional of the NCAA Baseball Tournament Saturday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
The Tigers (43-14 overall) improved to 2-0 in Regional play for the first time since 2011. They’ll face the winner of Sunday’s elimination game between Coastal Carolina (35-24) and fourth-seeded High Point.
Clemson got five hits Saturday from shortstop Jacob Hinderleider (5-for-5), including a ninth-inning single that moved the eventual winning run (Alden Mathes) from first to third.
Cannarella’s sac fly just missed a three-run home run, but it was his third RBI of the day and gave the Tigers the win after Austin Gordon pitched a scoreless 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth. Gordon earned his 10th save with Jacob McGovern (3-0) getting the win in relief.
For the second straight day, the theme of the day was runners left on base. The Tigers stranded 10 while the Chanticleers stranded six and went 0-for-4 with men in scoring position.
Clemson took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Blake Wright sacrifice fly after the first two batters reached off Coastal Carolina starter Henry Weycker.
The Tigers stranded single runners in the first and second innings before loading the bases with no one out in the third. Dean Mihos robbed Cannarella of a bases-clearing hit with a diving catch in right-center that allowed only one run to score on a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 Clemson lead.
A half-inning later, Sam Antonacci hit a solo home run off Tigers starter Aidan Knaak to put Coastal Carolina on the board.
The Tigers left two on in both the fourth and fifth innings before Coastal Carolina tied it in the sixth. Graham Brown and Caden Bodine singled leading off to put runners at the corners with no one out. Blake Barthol laid down a squeeze that Knaak tried to underhand to get the lead runner at the plate, but Brown scored to tie the game.
Clemson briefly went back ahead in the seventh, thanks to both Hinderleider and Cannarella. Hinderleider doubled to the base of the wall in left with one out. With two away, Cannarella lined an RBI single up the middle for a 3-2 Tigers lead.
Zack Beach crushed the first pitch he saw from Clemson reliever Lucas Mahlstedt for a solo home run to tie the game. Mahlstedt bounced back to retire the next three batters to close out the seventh.
Mahlstedt, Drew Titsworth and McGovern combined for a scoreless eighth inning. With two on and two away. McGovern fell behind 2-0 in the count before rallying to strike out Mihos on an off-speed pitch low and away to end the inning and set the stage for Clemson’s latest ninth-inning rally.
Knaak pitched well over six strong innings in his 14th start. He scattered six hits but yielded only two runs in a no-decision. The freshman right-hander struck out six without allowing a walk in a 90-pitch effort.
Weycker went six innings and scattered six hits for Coastal Carolina, allowing two unearned runs.
Clemson will face the Coastal Carolina-High Point winner at 6 p.m. Sunday. The Panthers eliminated No. 2 seed Vanderbilt at the Clemson Regional earlier Saturday.