#12 Tigers Edge Hurricanes 1-0 Behind Three Righthanders Friday

Coral Gables, FL –

Daniel Gossett struck out 10 batters in 7.0 innings pitched, then Matt Campbell and Scott Firth each pitched a scoreless inning in relief to close out #12 Clemson’s 1-0 victory over Miami (FL) in front of 2,871 fans at Alex Rodriguez Park on Friday night.  The Tigers, who won their 11^th game in a row, improved to 27-11 overall and 13-6 in the ACC.  The Hurricanes dropped to 25-16 overall and 8-11 in ACC play.

The Tigers pushed across a run in the sixth inning on Thomas Brittle‘s run-scoring groundout for the game’s only run.  In fact, Jon McGibbon, who scored on Brittle’s groundout, was the only Tiger to advance past second base in the game.  It gave Clemson its third 1-0 ACC victory in a seven-game span, including a five-game ACC span.

Gossett (6-2) earned the win by pitching 7.0 scoreless innings.  He allowed just three hits (all singles) and two walks with 10 strikeouts.  It was his first career double-digit strikeout game in an ACC contest.  Campbell pitched a scoreless eighth inning, then Firth pitched a perfect ninth inning to record his third save of the season.

The three Tiger righties combined to allow just two runners past first base and only one runner past second base.  Both runners who advanced to second base did so on steals, as Miami was 0-for-10 with runners on base.

Hurricane starter Christian Diaz (3-3) suffered the loss despite an effective outing.  He yielded four hits, one run, and one walk with seven strikeouts in 8.0 innings pitched.

The Tigers scored the game’s only run in the sixth inning.  McGibbon led off with a walk and advanced to third two batters later on Tyler Slaton‘s hard-hit single up the middle that glanced off second-baseman Alexander Hernandez’s glove.  McGibbon then scored on Brittle’s groundout to second.

In the ninth inning, Firth needed only six pitches to retire the Hurricanes in order to complete the shutout.

Brittle had the game’s only RBI, while McGibbon scored the game’s only run for the Tigers, who had five hits in the contest.

David Thompson had a game-high two hits to pace the Hurricanes, who had four hits in the game.

Clemson and Miami will play game-two of the three-game series on Saturday at 1:00 PM.  The game was originally slated to start at 7:00 PM, but weather concerns forced the time change.