Instant Replay: Clemson 7 Louisville 2
By: clemson May 22, 2015

By Trey McCurry.

DURHAM, NC — TCI takes a look back at Clemson’s (32-26) 7-2 win over Louisville (43-15) in both team’s second game of the ACC Baseball Championship at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

 

 

 

What happened?

The Tigers jumped out to an early lead with three first inning runs. Steven Duggar hit a one-out single, Tyler Krieger reached on an error, and Reed Rohlman drove them both in with a two-run single. Following a Chris Okey double, Robert Jolly plated Rohlman to give Clemson a 3-0 lead. After the Cardinals plated a run in the top of the second, the Tigers answered in the bottom of the frame. Tyler Slaton hit a leadoff double, Andrew Cox walked, and both runners advanced on a sac bunt. Duggar followed with a sac fly and Krieger hit a two-out single to score both runners and give Clemson a 5-1 advantage. The Tigers would add two more insurance runs in the fifth as Krieger led off with a single and stolen base, Okey drew a one-out walk, and Jolly reached on a error before Weston Wilson hit a two-run double in the left-center gap to give Clemson a 7-1 cushion. Louisville was able push across an unearned run in the top of the ninth, but could get no closer as the Tigers took home a 7-2 win.

Game-Changing Moment:

Clemson’s early runs gave them all the early momentum and every time the Cardinals tried to mount a rally, Tiger starter Zack Erwin shut them down. In both the second and third innings Louisville had runners on 2nd and 3rd, but Erwin struck out three batters (one in the second and two in the third) to strand runners and preserve Clemson’s lead.

What went right?

Erwin was outstanding, allowing a single run on six hits and no walks with 11 strikeouts in 8.0 innings. The Tiger offense roughed up future first-round draft pick Kyle Funkhouser for seven runs (five earned) on nine hits in 5.0 innings as seven different players collected as least one hit. Duggar, Krieger, and Jolly each had two hits while Rohlman and Wilson each had two RBI. 

What went wrong?

Even with all the early runs, Clemson had a couple of chances to score more but stranded seven runners in the contest (including five in scoring position). Defensively, the Tigers committed a couple of errors but made the plays when it counted throughout the game.