Under the haze of Florida humidity and a weekend split by storms, No. 3 Clemson delivered one of its most riveting wins of the season in a game that defied expectations and tested every inch of grit within Erik Bakich’s squad. A two-day thriller against No. 5 Florida State saw Cam Cannarella emerge as the unlikely hero, powering a three-run swing on a single play in the eighth inning to lift the Tigers to a stunning 6-3 victory at Dick Howser Stadium.
The win, which evened the series at one game apiece, not only halted Florida State’s momentum but reinvigorated a Clemson team hungry for a statement win on the road. Clemson now sits at 37-11 overall and 14-9 in the ACC, while Florida State falls to 32-10 and 13-7 in conference play.
This one had it all: a squeeze bunt, weather delays, power swings, late-inning pressure, and a costly mistake that swung the game.
Trailing 3-1 and down to their final outs in the eighth, Clemson’s pulse was faint. Then Cannarella ignited it. With two runners aboard and two outs, the sophomore stepped into the box and scorched a ball into the right-center gap, clearing the bases and knotting the game at three. But he wasn’t finished. Florida State’s throw to third was off-line, and Cannarella never slowed down, dashing home to score the go-ahead run in a play that turned the stadium on its head.
It was chaos. It was clutch. And it was the first error committed by a Clemson opponent in five games, arriving at the worst possible moment for the Seminoles.
As if that burst of adrenaline weren’t enough, the Tigers poured it on in the ninth. Dominic Listi doubled into the gap, and another Florida State miscue allowed a run to score on the play. Moments later, Jarrell, who had already executed a suicide squeeze to perfection earlier in the night, lifted a sacrifice fly to plate Listi and put the game on ice.
Jarrell’s small-ball mastery started the scoring back in the fifth, when he laid down a gutsy squeeze bunt to score the Tigers’ first run. But Florida State answered swiftly, as Nathan Cmeyla belted a solo shot to lead off the bottom half of the frame. Myles Bailey followed with an RBI double that shifted the momentum to the home side. A Gage Harrelson home run in the seventh further padded the Seminoles’ lead. But it wouldn’t last.
That’s when Cannarella delivered his jaw-dropping sequence that rewrote the storyline.
Weather added another layer of drama, forcing a suspension with one out and a runner on for the Seminoles in the bottom of the eighth. When play resumed Sunday afternoon, Clemson’s bullpen slammed the door shut.
Chance Fitzgerald (4-0) earned the win in relief, setting the table before the delay. When play resumed, Reed Garris took the baton and never blinked, shutting down Florida State’s rally and stranding two crucial runners in the eighth. He returned in the ninth to seal the deal, earning his third save of the year.
On the other side, Florida State starter Joey Volini (8-2) pitched with authority for most of the night, striking out seven over 8.0 innings. But a single misfire in the eighth and the unraveling that followed ultimately spelled his downfall.
For Clemson, it was a victory born from hustle, patience, and poise. In a hostile environment, they clawed back from a two-run deficit and turned a game spiraling toward defeat into a statement of resilience.
Now the series shifts to a high-stakes finale on Monday, with momentum suddenly wearing orange. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m., and with both teams eyeing postseason positioning, expect another battle in Tallahassee.
