Clemson Advances To ACC Baseball Championship

May 20, 2000

2000 ACC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP MAY 20, 2000 – FORT MILL, SC SEMIFINAL ROUND

#2 Clemson 12, #7 Virginia 5

FORT MILL, S.C. – Clemson scored in five innings, including five runs in the sixth inning, to defeat Virginia 12-5 and advance to face Georgia Tech in a possible championship game.

Clemson struck first, scoring one run in the second on a Justin Singleton single that scored Brian Ellis who started the inning off with a one-out double.

Virginia answered in the bottom of the second with a run of their own off a Michael Floyd single scoring Ben Himes who singled to center field with one out.

Clemson increased its lead to two runs after the third inning on a Jeff Baker home run that scored two. The Tigers then managed a five run fifth inning as they recorded two hits and five walks before Virginia ended the inning.

The Tigers then gained three more in the seventh inning as Jeff Baker hit his second two-run homer of the night.

The Clemson defense held the Cavaliers to no runs from the third through the seventh inning, but Virginia placed three runs on the board in the bottom of the eighth. Hunter Wyant singled to center field to start off the innings and advanced to third on a double by Robert Word. Michael Floyd dropped a single into center field to score Wyant. Teammate Tim LaVigne followed with a single to right field that scored Word and then Robbie Marvin doubled to right to score Floyd, the Cavs third run of the inning.

Clemson added one run in the ninth off of a Brian Holstad single that scored Henri Stanley who started the inning with a walk.

Virginia added one in the ninth before the end of the game as Tim LaVigne was hit by a pitch that scored Ben Himes.

The Clemson win set up a rematch with top-seeded Georgia Tech, which overcame a 7-0 deficit to beat Clemson 9-8 Friday night. The championship game will begin at 8:00 p.m. and will be televised by Fox Sports Net South. Should Clemson win, the Tigers and Yellow Jackets would meet again Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The game would also be televised by Fox Sports Net South.