Louisville 11 – Clemson 6 Game Summary
- Louisville capitalized on Clemson’s shaky defense, scoring four unearned runs on five Clemson errors to take an 11-6 decision in Louisville, Ky., Saturday.
- Clemson jumped out in front 3-0 in the first inning on a leadoff homer from Nate Savoie and a two-run blast from Jacob Jarrell.
- A night after committing five errors in rainy conditions, the Tigers’ defense let them down again, Saturday. Shortstop Tyler Lichtenberger threw a ball away early in the second inning for the first of five errors.
- After the Tigers committed another fielding miscue, head coach Erik Bakich reacted by swapping the positions of Tryston McCladdie and Jay Dillard to begin the third inning. McCladdie went from playing second base to third base and Dillard went from third to second. Bakich, still unsatisfied, made more moves in the fourth, inserting Jarren Purify at second base, shifting Dillard back to third and McCladdie to right field.
- Despite Bakich’s tinkering, Louisville scored two unearned runs in the fourth when left fielder Jack Crighton couldn’t glove a fly ball in the gap.
- Clemson entered the seventh trailing 6-3, but knotted it up 6-6 on an RBI single from Luke Gaffney and a pair of groundouts.
- The Tigers came unglued in the eighth, however, as Louisville needed just one hit to plate five runs in the inning thanks to four walks and two errors. Bakich made three pitching changes in the frame, but each reliever had more trouble than the last. Hayden Simmerson (L, 0-1) walked the leadoff batter and was promptly yanked in favor of Ariston Veasey. Veasey allowed a stolen base, a walk and an RBI single before yielding to Justin LeGuernic. LeGuernic walked the first batter he faced to load the bases for Danny Nelson. But no matter who was on the mound, Clemson couldn’t close the floodgates. Jarren Purify made a pair of errors in back of Nelson, each resulting in runs. When the smoke cleared, the Cards had taken an 11-6 lead that held up as the final score.
- Cardinals’ left fielder Zion Rose made a momentum-shifting play when he cut down Lichtenberger trying to reach second to open the eighth. It was Clemson’s last hit of the night and had he been safe, would have presented a golden opportunity to take a late lead.
- Louisville has scored eight unearned runs in the first two games of the series, both Cardinals victories.
- Clemson (26-18, 6-14) has dropped six of its last seven conference games dating back to April 11th. The Tigers will look to avoid the sweep when they wrap up the series at Louisville at 2 p.m., Sunday.
Louisville’s Zion Rose makes a pivotal play
.@zionrosebball4 with the cannon‼️ Scoreless eighth for @jackbrown_24.
— Louisville Baseball (@LouisvilleBSB) April 26, 2026
M8 | Cards 6, Tigers 6
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