Miami 11, No.18 Clemson 4: Palmquist Leads Hurricanes to Friday Win

Carson Palmquist worked 6.1 innings and allowed just three hits on Friday night as he earned his fourth win of the season. Miami earned their first conference road win with the 11-4 victory, and moved to 12-5 (3-1 ACC) on the season with a chance to win their second consecutive conference series if they win on either Saturday or Sunday.

Miami scored in the top of the first and top of the second inning to begin Friday night. Back-to-back one-out walks set up an RBI-single from Maxwell Romero in the first inning before a sac-fly from Jacob Burke made the score 2-0. The Hurricanes added on another two runs in the next inning when two one-out singles led to an RBI-groundout before another run scored on a wild pitch.

The top of the fourth saw Miami extend the lead. Three straight walks loaded the bases to open the inning and a clutch two-run double down the left-field line from Edgardo Villegas made the score 6-0. Yohandy Morales followed the double with a sac-fly before another walk gave Miami the bases loaded for the second time in the inning. Jacob Burke followed the walk with the Hurricanes’ second sac-fly of the inning to make the score 8-0 heading to the bottom of the fourth.

Carson Palmquist took advantage of the lead. Palmquist pitched a career-high 6.1 innings to go along with 11 strikeouts, which is also a career-high. He allowed just five baserunners across his outing and allowed just one extra-base hit. As a result only three pitchers entered the game on Friday night for Miami; Palmquist, Anthony Arguelles, and Ronaldo Gallo. On the other hand, seven Clemson pitchers appeared in the opening game of the series.

The Hurricanes added on another two runs in the top of the sixth. An error on a throw from the second baseman scored Yohandy Morales after he walked to open the inning. Dominic Pitelli scored Miami’s second run of the sixth when he hit an RBI-single that scored Maxwell Romero, who had reached second on the error earlier in the inning. Pitelli added his second-RBI of the night in the eighth inning on a sac-fly.

Clemson scored four runs over the final two innings to try to mount a comeback in the series opening game. A solo home run opened the bottom of the eighth inning before two singles and a walk loaded the bases. A bases-loaded walk and a fielder’s choice scored the final two runs of the inning to make the score 11-3. Another solo home run scored the final run in the bottom of the ninth inning, but a strikeout ended the game and Miami won 11-4.

Miami will have a chance to win their second consecutive conference series over the next two days, and Karson Ligon is expected to head to the mound on Saturday night for the Hurricanes with the opportunity to make Miami 4-1 through the first five games of ACC play. Saturday’s game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (streaming in the ESPN App).

Game Info

Winning Pitcher: Carson Palmquist (4-1, 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 11 K)

Losing Pitcher: Mack Anglin (3-1, 3.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 5 BB, 3 K)

Save: None