Cam Cannarella drives in four and Clemson rallies to defeat South Carolina Upstate 7-3

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Cam Cannarella drove in four runs, Dominic Listi ignited the go-ahead rally in the eighth inning, and Clemson defeated South Carolina Upstate 7-3 on Friday night in the Clemson Regional.

In the eighth, Listi singled then stole second and third before scoring on a single by TP Wentworth for a 4-3 lead. Jack Crighton scored on a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Ciufo, then Cannarella belted a two-run home run to center field, making it 7-3.

Johnny Sweeney’s home run leading off the second inning staked the Spartans to a 1-0 lead. Scott Newman doubled in the fourth inning and scored on a single by Gage Griggs to make it 2-0.

Upstate had the bases loaded with nobody out in the fifth, but Jacob McGovern came on in relief and ended the threat with two strikeouts and a flyout. He threw 3 1/3 innings and struck out six of the 11 batters he faced.

In the bottom of the inning, Cannarella doubled to score Ciufo and Wentworth to tie it. Cannarella later scored on a sacrifice fly by Collin Priest and Clemson led 3-2.

Newman’s solo home run in the eighth tied it for USC Upstate.

No. 1 regional seed Clemson (45-16) will play No. 2 West Virginia in the winners bracket game on Saturday. No. 4 Upstate (36-24) will face No. 3 Kentucky in the loser-out. West Virginia defeated Kentucky 4-3 on Friday. ___

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports