Clemson baseball clinches berth in ACC Tournament with win vs. Boston College

CLEMSON – Clemson baseball lives.

After a regular season that saw the Tigers flounder near the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings for much of the year and put their participation in the upcoming ACC Tournament in jeopardy, Clemson defeated Boston College 6-2 Friday to clinch a berth in their 48th consecutive league tournament.

Clemson (34-21, 12-16 ACC) secured one of 12 spots in next week’s tournament, which is set to begin Tuesday at Truist Field in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Friday’s victory, which came one day after a 15-1 romp for the Tigers in the series opener, clinched a series win for Clemson and improved coach Monte Lee’s record to 19-2 against Boston College.

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Much of Clemson’s late-season success has come via the bat of sophomore infielder Max Wagner, whose three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning essentially sealed the Tigers’ victory on Friday.

The blast was Wagner’s 26th of the season, which ranks second in program history. Khalil Greene, the national Player of the Year in 2002, is the only Clemson player to have more in a single season with 27.

Wagner, who homered for a second consecutive day against the Eagles (19-33, 5-24), has 16 home runs in the last 21 games and his .872 slugging percentage is on pace to break the school record. Wagner also leads the team in hits (73), RBI (74), runs (65) and doubles (15).

"We've accomplished one thing -- getting into the ACC Tournament -- but our work is not done," Lee said. "We're still trying to work on our resume to get into the NCAA Tournament. We gave ourselves a chance now. We get a chance to keep playing. It's very important to keep our RPI where it is."

The Tigers are No. 27 in the latest RPI against the nation's fifth-toughest schedule. Clemson owns 14 wins against opponents in the Top 25 of the RPI.

Clemson led 3-1 through five innings on Cooper Ingle's RBI double and a two-run home run by Bryar Hawkins. BC’s Luke Gold had a solo home run in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to 3-2, but Wagner responded with his blast in the bottom of the seventh.

Clemson starter Geoffrey Gilbert (5-2) picked up the win by scattering four hits and wo runs over 5.2 innings. He walked one and struck out five. Austin Gordon got the save, striking out seven in 3.1 scoreless innings.

Due to the threat of inclement weather, Saturday’s series finale at Doug Kingsmore Stadium has been moved up to an 11 a.m. start, with the Senior Day ceremony to begin at approximately 10:30 a.m.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson baseball clinches berth in ACC Tournament with victory