Clemson Tigers Baseball ran into a buzzsaw on Championship Sunday, falling 14-4 to North Carolina in the ACC title game. Ryan Lynch shut down the Tigers’ bats while the Tar Heels pounded Clemson pitching, putting the Tigers on the wrong end of a lopsided defeat.
It was Championship Sunday in Durham, and Clemson Tigers Baseball met the North Carolina Tar Heels to decide the 2025 ACC Champions. Clemson came in with momentum after a tough stretch to close conference play, but the Tar Heels left no doubt who was the better team, dominating the Tigers 14-4 and putting an exclamation point on their title run.
Early Promise Turns Into Trouble
Cam Cannarella reached on an error to lead off the game, but Ryan Lynch quickly showed why he’s one of the most promising arms in the ACC. Lynch, the true freshman with a 4-1 record, 3.25 ERA, and 1.17 WHIP, painted the zone at 94 mph and set down Collin Priest and Josh Paino with nasty stuff. Clemson wouldn’t have much of an answer for him all day.
BJ Bailey took the ball for Clemson and looked solid early, keeping North Carolina scoreless through the first except for an unearned run on a controversial no-strikeout call to Gavin Gallaher, who later doubled in a run. That sequence seemed to shake Bailey, and from there, things unraveled.
Lynch Dominates as Clemson Struggles
Ryan Lynch retired the Tigers in order on just six pitches in the second, and Clemson’s bats looked out of sync trying to time up his MLB-ready fastball. Meanwhile, Bailey ran into trouble in the bottom half, hitting two batters and walking another to load the bases. Erik Bakich made the call to the bullpen, but Nathan Dvorsky’s first pitch resulted in a sac fly by Kane Kepley, and Jackson Van De Brake followed with an RBI single that gave UNC a 3-0 lead heading into the third.
Lynch struck out three of four Tigers in the third, making it clear this wasn’t going to be Clemson’s day at the plate. Gavin Gallaher then roped a leadoff double off the left field wall, setting the table for another Tar Heels run on an RBI single from Alex Madera.
Clemson finally scratched a hit in the fourth, with Collin Priest and Josh Paino reaching base, followed by a Dominic Listi walk to load the bags with no outs. But Lynch showed why he’s the real deal, striking out Jacob Jarrell and Jack Crighton before getting TP Wentworth to ground out, escaping the jam unscathed.
The Game Slips Away
Hunter Stokely’s two-run homer in the fifth pushed the lead to 6-0, and it only got worse from there. Tyson Bass launched a two-run shot, and Jackson Van De Brake added a three-run blast, blowing the game wide open at 12-0.
UNC poured it on with two more in the sixth to make it 14-0, as Clemson’s pitching staff couldn’t find any answers.
Late Runs Too Little, Too Late
Cam Cannarella finally got the Tigers on the board with a two-run homer in the seventh, his second long ball of the ACC Tournament. Jack Crighton added an RBI single in the eighth, and Dominic Listi drove in another in the ninth, but the damage was long done.
Final Thoughts
Clemson looked like the team from last month, struggling at the plate and on the mound. Credit to UNC, they came in locked in and left no doubt, taking the ACC crown in a 14-4 rout.
Now, it’s time to regroup. Clemson’s seeding fate will be announced tonight, with the full NCAA Tournament bracket coming out tomorrow. Wherever the Tigers land in the national order, they’ll have to shake this off quickly and bring their best when it counts. I fully expect their draw to be a challenging one.
