CLEMSON, SC - Another thriller! It would have been the Tigers' third straight walk-off win, but they were batting first at home due to the pointless NCAA Tournament rule. Cam Cannarella was intentionally walked in the 9th on Friday night, setting the table for Bissetta, but Cannarella was the hero this time. He drove in the go-ahead run in consecutive at bats--once with a single in the 7th and again with a sac fly in the 9th--to give the Tigers their second consecutive 4-3 win in the regional.
Freshman Aidan Knaak delivered another tremendous performance on the mound for the Tigers. He was working on 2 weeks rest, and the last time that happened, it didn't go so well at Wake. It was his only non-dominant outing since the FSU series early in the season. The All-ACC First-Teamer gave up 6 hits and 2 runs in 6 innings, striking out 6 with no walks. The Tigers' bullpen also came through for the second straight game with the offense struggling to score runs. In fact, the only consecutive games in which the Tigers scored so few runs were at Wake, against the best pitcher in the country, and at Miami early in the season. They have yet to hit a HR this weekend after a program-record 14 straight games with at least one homer. That being said, it's great to see that they can win with pitching, defense and manufacturing runs. It's been proven over and over again that teams relying on offense never win in Omaha, and the Tigers have shown that they are becoming a more complete team. The Tigers have not had an established closer all season, and I asked Bakich on Monday if Austin Gordon has become that guy. We can safely say now that he is the early season weekend starter is the Tigers' new closer. He earned the win on Friday night over High Point, and he got the save by pitching the 9th with a pair of strikeouts tonight.
As fun as these walk-off wins have been, it would be nice to give Cardiac Clemson a break and win a game comfortably to close the books on the regional. Surprisingly, Vandy lost to both Coastal and High Point to be eliminated, so all the storylines with the Bakich vs. Corbin rematch have gone out the window. The Tigers will get a rematch with the winner of Coastal and High Point on Sunday at 6:00.
My post-game interviews are below!
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