Instant Replay: Clemson 9 No. 3 Louisville 1
By: clemson May 3, 2015

By Trey McCurry.

CLEMSON, SC — Here is a look back at Clemson’s (24-21, 13-11 ACC) 9-1 win over #3 Louisville (35-11, 19-3 ACC) on Saturday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

 

 

 

What happened?

The Tigers scored three runs on four hits in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead. Eli White got things going with a leadoff HBP and Steven Duggar followed with a single. After a flyout moved White to third, Reed Rohlman hit an RBI single for the first run of the game. After a fielder’s choice, back-to-back two-out, RBI singles by Chase Pinder and Weston Wilson gave Clemson a 3-0 lead. The Tigers added two more runs to their lead in the third. Tyler Krieger led off the frame with a hustle double and came in to score on Rohlman’s RBI single. After two outs, Wilson picked up another RBI on a hard hit single to second to extend the lead to 5-0. The Cardinals picked up a run in the sixth to cut the lead to 5-1, but Clemson answered with a four-run frame in the seventh. Andrew Cox drew a leadoff walk and Duggar followed with a RBI double. Following a walk to Krieger and an out, Chris Okey was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Pinder, who picked up a RBI on a HBP. Wilson picked up his third RBI of the day on a single to deep shortstop and an error allowed Okey to score the fourth run of the inning, and final run of the day, to give the Tigers a big 8-1 win.

Game-Changing Moment:

The game changed right off the bat. Facing a quality pitcher in Louisville starter Kyle Funkhouser, Clemson scored three runs on four hits in the first inning and Matthew Crownover shut down the Cardinal offense the rest of the way.

What went right?

Crownover was solid, allowing a single run on five hits in 7.0 innings, while Alex Bostic threw two scoreless, two-hit frames to close it out. Wilson had a game-high three hits to pace Clemson’s 10-hit attack and also had a game-best three RBI. Rohlman and Pinder each had two RBI as well while Rohlman and Duggar had two hits. The Tigers were aggressive the whole game, taking the extra base on both hits and deep fly balls to the outfield. 

What went wrong?

It’s hard to find anything wrong when you beat the #3 team in the nation and a potential top-10 draft pick. Clemson did commit an error, but Crownover pitched around it and the Tigers only stranded six runners in the contest.