4 takeaways from Clemson baseball's grueling loss to Louisville in Top 25 series finale

USA Today

19-04-2025

4 takeaways from Clemson baseball's grueling loss to Louisville in Top 25 series finale
In a game that took 12 innings and over four and a half hours to complete, the Clemson Tigers and Louisville Cardinals fought to the final pitch in the finale of a Top 25 ACC baseball series Saturday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
When it was over, No. 19 Louisville emerged with an 8-6 victory. A total of 17 pitchers were used, 10 of them by Cardinals coach Dan McDonnell in an attempt to salvage a game against the Tigers, ranked No. 2 by Perfect Game and No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Clemson fell to 35-7 overall and 13-5 in ACC play. Louisville improved to 28-11 overall and 10-8 in conference play. The Tigers won two of three in the series against a quality ACC foe and Top 25 opponent.
Here are some reactions and takeaways from Saturday's series finale.
Clemson couldn't buy a hit with runners on base for much of the day
The big number from Saturday was 16. That's how many runners the Tigers left on base in their marathon loss. The bulk of those runners were stranded in the first seven innings.
On three different occasions, Clemson left the bases loaded. That included the third inning when the Tigers loaded the bags on singles from Cam Cannarella (2-for-7, HR) and Collin Priest (1-for-4), and a walk to Jarren Purify (1-3, 4 BB). The Tigers failed to capitalize off Louisville reliever Justin West.
It happened again in the fifth and seventh innings. In the latter, Jack Crighton drew his third walk of the game and the Tigers' 10th free pass to that point (they would finish with 12 walks). It set the stage for Andrew Ciufo, by then the only Clemson batter that hadn't reached base.
Ciufo (1-for-6) reached on a bunt single to third to load the bases with one out off Louisville's Tucker Biven. But Clemson couldn't take advantage as Luke Gaffney (1-4, RBI) popped up for the second out and Cannarella worked the count to 2-2 before striking out. Of the 16 runners left on base by Clemson, 14 were stranded in the first seven innings.
Late base-running mistakes haunt Clemson in loss
Things looked promising for Clemson in the eighth inning when Purify led off with a single, easily stole second -- his third of four stolen bases on the day to give him 21 for the year -- and took third on a wild pitch.
It turned out to be all for naught when the Tigers' second baseman was caught in a rundown between third and home on a missed sign with Jacob Jarrell batting. Jarrell (1-for-5, RBI) was retired on a fly ball to end the threat.
In the ninth, after Clemson had tied the game at 4-4 when Josh Paino's eighth home run cleared the wall in right, Gaffney was hit by a pitch to put the potential winning run on base. Tryston McCladdie pinch ran for Gaffney but was ruled out on review after being tagged out trying to get back to the bag on a pickoff throw from Louisville reliever Brennyn Cutts.
Clemson bats refuse to go away for anyone
You can count on one hand the number of times Erik Bakich's club has been completely out of a game this season. It hasn't happened often and it didn't happen Saturday.
Paino's game-tying home run for his team-best 40th RBI of the season on the first pitch of the ninth inning sent the game to extras. Louisville's Zion Rose scored the go-ahead run for a 5-4 lead in the 10th, and the Cardinals tacked on another run courtesy of a single from Tague Davis to make it 6-4.
Then Clemson rallied again. With two outs, Jarrell hit a sharp single to left to score Dominic Listi (2-5, 2 BB) to cut the lead to 6-5. Paino sent a grounder to shortstop Tanner Shiver, who threw wide of the bag to allow the tying run to score.
After Clemson was retired in order in the 11th, Davis hit a two-run bomb to center off Justin LeGuernic for what turned out to be the back-breaker. Davis finished the day 3-for-6 with three RBIs. He hit his 15th home run.
B.J. Bailey was big for Clemson in long relief
Clemson graduate senior B.J. Bailey turned in what amounted to a quality start for the Tigers. Making his 12th appearance this season, the left-hander pitched seven innings total in long relief and held Louisville to three runs on six hits in a no-decision. Bailey walked three and struck out four, throwing 89 pitches; 55 strikes. He sat down eight batters in a row at one point.
It was the second straight day that a Clemson reliever ate up innings for Bakich's team. Right-hander Drew Titsworth made his first career start in Friday's 2-1 Tigers victory and threw six scoreless innings of three-hit ball.
With the regular season heading into its stretch run and only four weekend series remaining before the ACC Tournament, Bailey (3.07 ERA, 44 innings) and Titsworth (2.86 ERA, 28 1/3 innings) are promising signs for Clemson.
Clemson baseball schedule 2025: Who do Tigers play next?
Clemson will host a top five matchup on national television Tuesday when the fifth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs visit Doug Kingsmore Stadium for a scheduled 8 p.m. (ET) start. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
Clemson has four weekend series left on its regular season schedule: at NC State, at No. 8 Florida State, at home against Duke, and at Pittsburgh. The Tigers open a three-game series in Raleigh beginning Thursday at 7 p.m.