Normally to begin an ACC weekend, the Clemson baseball team already has a one-game-to-none lead in the series. That’s because Aidan Knaak has been nearly flawless on the mound this season. The sophomore entered his start on Thursday against Louisville with a 6-0 record and an ERA just below four. And while he didn’t have his best stuff against the Cards, Knaak did enough to keep his team in the game.
Louisville got to the Fort Myers, Florida, native for three runs in the first, but thereafter, Knaak settled into his typical flow. He worked six innings, allowing just two earned runs, to help Clemson rally past the Cardinals 7-6 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The win keeps the Tigers in second place in the ACC, just behind Georgia Tech, with a 12-4 conference mark. The loss drops Louisville back to 9-7 in the ACC.
It was a night of big flies for the home team as Clemson hit two three-run home runs in the victory. The first came in the bottom of the first, off the bat of Collin Priest, digging Clemson out of an early 3-0 deficit. The second was a three-run blast in the 7th from Jack Crighton, which gave the Tigers the lead for good. All three runs were unearned because of a costly one-out error by Louisville third baseman Jack Munroe. But Crighton was in no mood to hand his first career home run ball back over to the visiting dugout. That, and the fact that Clemson’s defense was extremely shaky as well, allowing four unearned runs on three defensive miscues.
Jacob McGovern (2-0) earned the win by tossing a perfect seventh inning in relief, while Lucas Mahlstedt pitched 1.2 innings to record his 13th save of the year. Wyatt Danilowicz (0-1) suffered the loss.
The series continues Friday at 5 p.m.