A ninth-inning rally was all for naught for the Diamond Heels Friday night at Clemson, as a walk-off single in the bottom of the inning sent Carolina to its third straight loss.

Carolina had taken an early lead thanks to a three-run home run from the recently-returned Patrick Alvarez, who was playing in just his second game back from an injury. But the Tigers got all three runs back in the third against starter Jake Knapp, then added one more for good measure in the fourth.

Both sets of bats went quiet until the ninth, when a Jackson Van De Brake double tied the game at four after UNC was down to its final out. Unfortunately, Clemson answered the call against Matt Poston. A walk, a hit batter and a single were enough to walk the Tar Heels off for the first time this season.

Outfielder Vance Honeycutt remained out of the lineup for the third consecutive game. The program lists Honeycutt as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

The loss drops UNC to 33-20 on the year and 14-13 in conference play ahead of the regular-season finale on Saturday. The Tar Heels are looking to avoid their second series sweep of the season.

 

Featured image via UNC Baseball on Twitter


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