No. 4 Tigers Rally For 6-4 Win Over Panthers

CLEMSON, S.C. – No. 4 Clemson rallied from a 4-0 deficit to defeat Pittsburgh 6-4 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Friday night. The Tigers, who took a 1-0 lead in the series, improved to 31-6 overall and 12-4 in the ACC. The Panthers dropped to 15-20 overall and 4-15 in ACC play.

The Panthers scored on a two-out wild pitch in the first inning, then they scored three unearned runs in the third inning after a costly two-out error. Jimmy Obertop belted a solo homer in the fourth inning, then Clemson scored three runs in the fifth inning to tie the score. Jacob Jarrell lofted a sacrifice fly, Cam Cannarella belted a run-scoring double and Alden Mathes lined a run-scoring single in the frame.

Obertop led off the sixth inning with a homer, his second of the game and 11th of the season, to give Clemson the lead. Jarren Purify doubled the Tiger lead later in the inning on a safety squeeze bunt.

Lucas Mahlstedt (3-0) earned the win in relief, as he allowed just two hits, no runs and no walks with three strikeouts in 3.1 innings pitched. Reed Garris pitched 2.0 perfect innings in relief, then Austin Gordon pitched the ninth inning to record his sixth save of the year. Reliever Matthew Fernandez (2-4) suffered the loss.

The series concludes with a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.