Grice slams Hokies as Tigers defeat Virginia Tech in ACC Tournament
Grice slams Hokies as Tigers defeat Virginia Tech in ACC Tournament
David Hood by Senior Writer -
DURHAM, NC – Another big inning, another win, another slam for Caden Grice, and another victory over Virginia Tech. Grice hit a grand slam as part of a seven-run sixth inning, and third-seeded Clemson (40-17) dispatched 10-seed Virginia Tech (30-23) 14-5 in pool play at the ACC Tournament in Durham Bulls Athletic Park Wednesday night. The win is the 40th of the season for the Tigers, who will play Boston College at 11 am Friday for the chance to advance to the tournament semifinals on Saturday. The win is the 13th in a row for the Tigers, who have won 23 of their last 26 games. The victory is also the 22nd come-from-behind win of the season. The Tigers will be the home team and occupy the third-base dugout Friday against the Eagles. Virginia Tech scored five runs over the first four innings, but the Tigers hung around. Benjamin Blackwell’s RBI single scored Riley Bertram in the second for the Tigers’ first run, and a sacrifice fly by Will Taylor and an RBI double by Billy Amick scored two runs in the third. BJ Bailey came on in relief with one out in the fifth and induced an inning-ending double play that kept the score at 5-3. Clemson then made the Hokies pay in the sixth. Amick and Bertram led off the inning with singles, but Blake Wright’s bunt attempt forced Amick at third for the first out. The missed bunt didn’t matter as Bertram quickly stole third and Wright stole second. Blackwell then struck out swinging for the second out. Jacob Jarrell hit a high fly behind shortstop that the Hokies let drop after a miscommunication between the shortstop and the outfielder, allowing two runs to score to make it 5-5. Cam Cannarella then singled to center on the 13th pitch of his at-bat to score Jarrell for a 6-5 Clemson lead. Cooper Ingle reached on an infield single and Taylor was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Grice. Grice worked a 3-1 count, then launched a fastball deep over the wall in right-center for a grand slam and a 10-5 Clemson lead. The homer was the 15th of the season for Grice, and the grand slam was a Clemson-record third of the year. Sixteen different players have hit two grand slams in a season, but Grice now stands alone with his third. The Tigers added another run in the 8th. Taylor was plunked to start the frame, Grice singled him to second, and Bertram poked an RBI single to right to score Taylor for an 11-5 advantage. Amick tallied his third hit and second RBI of the day on a single in the ninth. Two more Tigers scored on a fielder's choice then a throwing error with a Hokies' double-play attempt. Bailey picked up the win to improve to 2-2 on the season. He pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up just one hit and no runs. Clemson took two of three from Boston College in Chestnut Hill in late April.
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Source: TigerNet
