Clemson baseball ended a 16-year no-hitter drought Thursday night as three Tiger pitchers combined to accomplish the rare feat in a 6-1 victory over Pittsburgh at Charles L. Cost Field.
Starter Aidan Knaak dominated through 7.1 innings before Joe Allen and Lucas Mahlstedt finished off the Tigers’ 15th no-hitter in program history and first since March 18, 2009. The win improved No. 9 Clemson to 39-15 overall and 16-12 in ACC play.
Knaak, who improved to 8-1 on the season, tied his career high with 12 strikeouts while allowing just four walks. Despite not allowing a hit, Pittsburgh managed to push across a run in the eighth inning on a wild pitch.
The Tigers’ offense provided steady support throughout the contest. After Cam Cannarella extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the third inning, Luke Gaffney’s fielder’s choice drove in the game’s first run. Andrew Ciufo added to the lead in the fourth with a two-out RBI double.
Jacob Jarrell had a career night at the plate, collecting four hits including his 12th home run of the season to lead off the sixth inning. The Tigers added two insurance runs in the eighth, with Jarren Purify launching his fifth homer of the year and Collin Priest driving in another run with an infield single.
The historic performance marked not only Clemson’s first no-hitter in 16 years but also just the fourth no-hitter in an ACC game in program history. The last time the Tigers no-hit an ACC opponent was April 17, 1976, when they blanked Virginia 9-0 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Pittsburgh starter Patrick Gardner took the loss, falling to 4-5 after allowing four runs on eight hits over six innings while striking out seven.
The Tigers will look to clinch the series when they face the Panthers again on Friday at 3 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
