Clemson scored four runs in the fifth inning to take the lead and the bullpen held on to the win in the late innings.

by CU Athletic Communications - Sun Mar 25 14:47:39 GMT-04:00 2018

LOUISVILLE, KY. - No. 10 Clemson scored four runs in the fifth inning and held on for a 4-3 win over No. 11 Louisville in the first game of a doubleheader at Jim Patterson on Sunday. The Tigers took a 2-0 series lead and improved to 18-5 overall and 5-3 in the ACC. The Cardinals dropped to 17-6 overall and 3-5 in ACC play.

In the top of the fifth inning, Chris Williams and Drew Wharton both hit two-out, two-run singles in Clemson's four-run frame. The Cardinals answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and a run in the sixth inning to narrow Clemson's lead to 4-3.

Tiger reliever Travis Marr (1-0) earned his first career win by tossing 1.0 innings. Ryley Gilliam pitched the final 1.1 innings to record his third save of the year. Louisville starter Shay Smiddy (2-1) suffered the loss.

With the win, the Tigers take the series becoming just the second ACC team to win a series at Louisville since the Cards joined the conference.

The series concludes with the second game of the doubleheader at approximately 3:30 p.m., on ACC Network Extra.