UConn pulls a Clemson

CLEMSON -- The Clemson baseball program must wait.

Forever, or a day.

These days, these guys don't do anything the easy way.

The exhausted, excited Connecticut Huskies late Sunday night put Columbia Super Regional reservations on hold for the Tigers.

Clemson was beaten at its own high-wire act. As the Tigers did last year at the Auburn Regional, UConn is a No. 2 seed bent on getting to a super regional.

In this case, via the unfriendly confines of Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Like Clemson's entire 2011 season, the Huskies' 7-6 NCAA tournament victory notched with two outs in the bottom of the ninth was a tale of survival.

"It comes down to a lot of things during the course of that game," Clemson head coach Jack Leggett said, "not just the very end of it."

Over. Done with. The Tigers were already ready for tonight.

But bubbly UConn was ready to start a third game Sunday after eliminating Coastal Carolina in the afternoon and upsetting Clemson a little before midnight.

"It's a nice environment," said redshirt senior catcher Doug Elliot, who caught both games and hit a two-run homer against Clemson. "It makes it easy to play when you have 6,000 people yelling at you."

Elliot said getting UConn to its first super regional "would be huge."

Spring trouble

Something has to give.

Coming off the deck is Clemson's path to success.

"Our season was a roller coaster in the beginning," said Clemson catcher Spencer Kieboom, who tied the game with a two-run single with two outs in the top of the ninth. "I feel like we're coming out with even more (tonight)."

Kieboom knows he should have been celebrating.

The Sunday night script was going so well.

Wiggling out of a second-inning jam made for a short explanation

of the Clemson regular year. Justin Sarratt, a graduate student from Gaffney, found himself facing slugger George Springer in a bases-loaded situation with two outs and the Tigers behind, 1-0.

Springer is projected as a first-round pick in today's major league draft.

Sunday night, he worked a full count before fouling off a pair of pitches. But Sarratt induced a flyout to deep left-center.

Ah, collective sigh.

Springer wasn't finished, with the game or the UConn season. He singled to start a three-run charge in the eighth inning. The Huskies took a 6-4 lead and never trailed again.

2010 perspective

Clemson spent the spring bouncing back.

Swept by Virginia and at North Carolina, the Tigers were unranked by Baseball America every day in April but scratched their way to No. 14 this week.

Clemson won its last six ACC series and went 2-1 at the ACC tournament last week.

This UConn team is playing with house money after opening NCAA tournament play Friday with a lopsided loss to Coastal Carolina.

The Huskies are not afraid. They just smudged up Clemson closer Scott Weismann's shiny statistics.

Did so before hostile fans.

Had a blast.

But at some point today Leggett is going to remind his players.

Would you rather have to play Auburn at Auburn?

Or the Connecticut Huskies at home?

Reach Gene Sapakoff at gsapakoff@postandcourier.com or 937-5593.