Tigers break through late to take opener over Cards

Will Taylor contributed three hits and reached base four times in the win. (Merrell Mann photo)

by Brandon Rink - Staff Writer - Fri May 05 19:03:36 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Things looked lopsided everywhere on the board but the actual score by the bottom of the seventh inning at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Friday.

Clemson, ranked as high as No. 18 this week (Perfect Game), had the advantage in hits, 10 to 3, and even had one fewer error, but through 6 1/2 frames, the score was even, 3-all.

Erik Bakich’s Tigers awaited the breakthrough it seemed to earn by that point, and after the seventh-inning stretch, that redemption came with a three-run inning that keyed a 6-3 win over Louisville to take game one of the series.

A trio of singles loaded the bases up in the Clemson seventh, and Will Taylor drew the RBI walk to place Clemson ahead, then Caden Grice was hit for another score and Billy Amick brought in a third Tiger on a sacrifice fly.

Reed Garris (4-0) threw 1 2/3 scoreless in relief to earn the win and junior closer Ryan Ammons pitched the final 1 1/3 innings for the save (2).

"Credit to our guys for sticking with it and finding ways to get on," Clemson coach Erik Bakich said. "We did leave some runs on the table for sure. Felt like we could've scored more, but credit to our guys for finding a way and very good pitching defense for sure, that was a highlight."

The Tigers have won seven of their last eight games and 8-of-10 in ACC play.

Some missed opportunities marked the action midway through for both sides.

Louisville, which came in ranked as high as No. 22 (NCBWA), struck first in the third inning with a two-out RBI double to the right field gap from JT Benson, but Clemson freshman lefty Ethan Darden limited the damage from there.

Clemson (29-17, 12-10 ACC) notched a hit in four of the first five innings and eight total, but the Tigers only brought across a lone run in the action there.

Clemson tied things up after Louisville failed to turn its third double play in four innings, with Taylor coming around third base after the first baseman couldn’t field the throw from second base.

The Tigers had a chance to take the lead in the fifth inning but had two runners tagged out between third base and home. One came with the infield being in and the throw easily beating Benjamin Blackwell to the plate – and the other, Cam Cannarella was caught too far off the base after seeing the pitcher Ryan Hawks stumble fielding an infield groundball and Hawks throwing him out.

In the sixth frame, Darden tallied his ACC-best with a sixth strikeout after hitting a batter, but Louisville’s Eddie King Jr. made him pay a batter later with a two-run shot to left field.

That lead was short-lived for the Cardinals (29-16, 9-13 ACC), however, as Amick launched a two-run homer of his own to left field in the bottom half of the inning. That was his seventh homer of the season, which ranks second on the team. Two Louisville pitchers later, Riley Bertram charged the plate after a pitch got away from Louisville’s catcher and the umpire called that he evaded a tag to score a go-ahead run, but after a lengthy review, Bertram was called out.

Cooper Ingle extended his on-base streak to 40 games with a single in the fifth inning. Cannarella tallied his fifth game this season with four or more hits, going 4-for-5 at the plate. Amick notched three RBIs in total for a second multi-RBI game in a row. He has 13 RBIs in the last 10 games.

Darden matched his career-best with six innings, allowing only three hits with six strikeouts and charged all three runs in his time out there.

"We needed a quality start and we got one from Ethan Darden," Bakich said. "He pitched six very good innings."

The series resumes in a 2 p.m. scheduled start on Saturday, with the Tigers seeking a fifth-consecutive ACC series win.