Clemson vs North Carolina Doubleheader Baseball Recap

(24) Clemson 10, (29) North Carolina 6 - Resumption of April 24 suspended game

(29) North Carolina 4, (24) Clemson 3 - Regularly scheduled Sunday game

The North Carolina Tar Heels took their three-game weekend series in Clemson after escaping with a 4-3 win and splitting a quasi-doubleheader on Sunday. Clemson won the first game of the day after rain suspended play on Saturday in South Carolina.

In the nightcap - Sunday's regularly scheduled contest - Heels starter Patrick Johnson worked himself into trouble in the ninth, leading to a one-out, bases loaded situation. With Clemson’s Chris Epps at bat and facing a 3-1 count, controversy developed at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on the Clemson campus. Strike two to Epps was called late, leading the Clemson runner on first base, Richie Shaffer, to believe that ball four had been thrown when in fact the at-bat was still in progress. Shaffer was walking to second base, but when the late strike call was made, the North Carolina catcher rifled a throw to pick off Shaffer, who rightly protested the call along with Clemson coach Jack Leggett. Both men argued that time was called along with the umpires in orange in the stands, but the call would stand and Epps would strike out two pitches later to end the game.

UNC designated hitter Brett Knief doubled in the winning run, shortstop Ryan Graepal, from first base in the top of the ninth off Tiger reliever Will Lamb. Between the scores for each squad - all the runs came in the first two innings and then from the Heels in the ninth - the taut thriller displayed stellar mid-game pitching, as UNC starter Patrick Johnson and Clemson starter Dominic Leone both delivered six scoreless innings from the third through the eighth.

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In the first game, completed earlier in the day, the Tigers took a weather-delayed 10-6 win after starting with a 7-5 lead on Saturday before thunderstorms washed away the proceedings. Tigers reliever Alex Frederick got the win with 1 2/3 innings of work on Saturday before David Haselden and Will Lamb shut the door on Sunday.

Clemson was down 5-1 in the third inning before mounting a six-run rally in the fourth to grab a 7-5 lead -- just an inning before the Saturday rains came. Tiger leftfielder Kyle Parker went 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs in a game where Clemson banged out 13 hits.

At the conclusion of the three-game set, UNC improved to 25-17 and 8-13 in conference with the series win. Clemson dropped to 25-16 and 11-10 in the ACC and has now lost seven of its last nine conference games.

The Tar Heels' pitching, which had struggled previously in conference play, battled well in the Palmetto State with tremendous performances from game winners Matt Harvey (Friday) and Patrick Johnson (Sunday's second game). The combo rang up 21 strikeouts and surrendered only 3 earned runs in 17.1 combined innings of work.

Both squads have the week off from conference play next week.

By: Brandon Rink
DFN Sports Senior Guest Writer