DURHAM, N.C.- Jimmy Obertop and Jacob Hinderleider both hit long balls in the top of the tenth, giving No. 10 Clemson an 8-6 series-clinching win over No. 6 Duke at Jack Coombs Field on Sunday.
The Blue Devils would push across a run in the bottom of the tenth but the comeback attempt would come up short as Matt Marchal would record the final three outs, stranding a runner in the process, to pick up his first save of the season.
"We knew we were in for a battle with one of the best teams in the country," head coach Erik Bakich said. "Traded punches with them all weekend but today we got bigtime pitching performances and they earned everything that they got, they hit their way on. To see 46 of their hitters come to the plate and us not walk a single guy, didn't hit a single guy, just a testament to our pitchers."
Clemson moves to 17-2 overall with the win and opens up ACC play at 2-1.
Aidan Knaak scattered eight hits across 6.1 innings of work, allowing just one earned run, while striking out a career-high nine and walking none. Rob Hughes pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his first win of the season.
Clemson took an early 2-0 lead after Blake Wright's opposite field 2-run shot in the top of the first. It was Wright's team-leading seventh long ball of the season.
The Blue Devils would get one of those back in the bottom half of the inning, as Ben Miller launched a solo shot out to left-center that was just over the glove of an outstretched Cam Cannarella.
The Tigers had a chance to add to the lead in the second after putting runners at second and third with just one out. Duke reliever Ryan Wiggins would then come on and strike out Andrew Cuifo and Cannarella to strand both runners.
The Blue Devils would tie it up at 2-2 in the fourth. Logan Bravo led things off with a double and would eventually come around to score on a wild pitch and a passed ball.
Clemson would go back on top in the sixth. Back-to-back walks to start the inning put runners at first and second. A passed ball would move the runners to second and third with one out and Jaren Purify's sacrifice fly would put the Tigers up 3-2. A leaping stab by Duke SS Wallace Clark for the third out of the inning kept Clemson from tacking on at least one more run in the frame.
Hinderleider and Purify both came up with clutch two-out RBI doubles in the top of the eighth, giving Clemson a 5-2 advantage. Those were the first two-out RBI hits all series for the Tigers.
Hinderleider would finish the afternoon 2-for-3 with three RBI.
"Got some huge timely hits," Bakich said. "We had not had a two out RBI in this series, and we picked a good time to get a couple. Proud of our guys for the way we responded every time."
Duke would tie it back up at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth, getting a two-run homer from AJ Gracia and a sacrifice fly from Clark, eventually sending the game into extra innings.
Clemson will now return home to face Winthrop on Tuesday with first pitch at 6pm.
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