UVA baseball comeback falls short against No. 10 Clemson

No. 10 Clemson (33-11, 16-7 ACC) hit three home runs in a 5-4, series-clinching win over Virginia (24-19, 9-14 ACC) at Disharoon Park. Six of the last seven games for the Cavaliers have been decided by one run.

For the second-straight game, the Clemson bullpen was able to limit Virginia’s chances in the back third of the game. The combination of Carson Spiers and Ryley Gilliam allowed just one hit over the final 3.1 innings. Gilliam, despite allowing two fly balls to the warning track in the ninth, earned the four-out save, his second save in as many days.

“That game was won by home runs,” head coach Brian O’Connor said. “We knew coming in that they Clemson had some guys that can hit the ball out of the ballpark and three of them today certainly made the difference. I was proud of our guys, we hung in there, we battled back and I thought the guys that filled in after (Daniel) Lynch went seven innings gave us a chance to win.”

Solo home runs by Logan Davidson and Chris Williams, accompanied by a two-run shot by Bryce Teodosio accounted for four of Clemson’s five runs. The Tigers came into the series ranked fifth in the country in long balls.

Freshman Tanner Morris (Crozet, Va.) scored two of Virginia’s four runs on sacrifice flies off the bat of Andy Weber (Aurora, Ohio). Morris finished the day 3-for-4 with a double, his sixth three-hit performance of the season. Weber also scored a run in the contest and was 1-for-2, extending his reached base streak to 29 games.

The relief combination of Kyle Whitten (Manassas, Va.), Riley Wilson (Midlothian, Va.) and Mack Meyer (San Francisco, Calif.) combined for two scoreless innings. The trio each recorded an out in the eighth and Meyer worked a perfect ninth to keep the Cavaliers within one.

The Cavaliers will look to salvage the series on Sunday (April 29) in the final game of a three-game set at Disharoon Park. Virginia will have right-hander Noah Murdock (1-0) make his second start of the year and he will be opposed by lefty Jake Higginbotham (6-1). First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.