Instant Replay: Louisville 9, Clemson 5
By: clemson May 5, 2015

By Trey McCurry.

Here is a look back at Clemson’s (24-23, 13-13 ACC) 9-5 loss to #3 Louisville (37-11, 21-3 ACC) on Monday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

What happened?

The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-run homer by Brendan McKay. The Tigers cut the lead in half with a single run in the bottom of the third as Reed Rohlman hit a two-out single through the left side of the infield to score Eli White. After Louisville extended their lead to 4-1 with two runs in the top of the fifth, Clemson answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame. White and Steven Duggar led off with back-to-back singles before Tyler Krieger plated White with a RBI single to left field. A RBI single from Rohlman scored Duggar and a RBI groundout for Weston Wilson brought in Krieger to tie the game. The Tigers took a 5-4 lead with a single run in the bottom of the seventh. Wilson drew a one-out walk and Tyler Slaton beat out a two-out infield hit before White lined a single to right to bring in Wilson. The Cardinals quickly answered with a four-run eighth inning that started with back-to-back leadoff solo homers. Louisville would go on to add an insurance run in the ninth inning to take the series with a 9-5 win.

Game-Changing Moment:

The game changed in the bottom of the sixth inning. With the score tied at four, Clemson loaded the bases with one out for Rohlman and Chris Okey. Following a pitching change for the Cardinals, reliever Robert Strader got Rohlman to pop up to shortstop and Okey fouled out to the first baseman to end the threat.

What went right?

Jake Long gave the Tigers a solid start, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits in 6.0 innings. White and Slaton led Clemson’s 13-hit attack with three hits each while Rohlman added two hits and two RBI.

What went wrong?

After the Tigers took a late lead, the bullpen let Clemson down as three relievers combined to allow five runs on six hits over the final two innings. Offensively, the Tigers stranded 13 runners in the contest, including seven over a three-inning stretch in the middle of the game and eight runners in scoring position.