Crownover leads Tigers to victory at FSU

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Needing a win to qualify for next week’s ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C., Clemson got one of its clutch performances of the season from ace Matthew Crownover on the mound and then got RBI hits from Chris Okey and Steven Duggar at the plate on Thursday as the Tigers knocked off No. 8 Florida State, 4-1.
The win allowed Clemson (29-25, 14-13 ACC) to wrap up one of the 10 spots in the ACC Tournament. They will now play Friday and Saturday against the Seminoles with an opportunity to clinch one of the top six seeds in the tournament. The top six teams will not play until Wednesday and will be guaranteed to play at least three games in the conference’s pool play format.
But on Thursday it was all about Crownover. After giving up a solo home run to Dillon Busby in the bottom of the second inning the junior settled in and allowed just four hits the rest of the night, while walking three. Crownover had five strikeouts.
With Crownover cruising on the mound, Clemson got it going at the plate in the fourth inning. Okey doubled to left centerfield to tie the game and then Duggar had an RBI single in the fifth what turned out to be the game winner.
The Tigers got eight hits overall with freshman Reed Rohlman recording two hits and Okey doing the same. Clemson scored single runs in the sixth and seven innings to build its lead.
Pat Krall came into the game in the eighth inning to record his third save of the year. The lefty recorded three strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth to seal the victory.
The Tigers have now won four of their last five games. With the loss Florida State falls to 37-17 and 17-11 in the ACC. That was the Seminoles third conference loss at home and just the fifth all season at home. They are now 27-5 in Tallahassee.
Clemson and FSU will play Game 2 on Friday at 6 p.m.

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Crownover leads Tigers to victory at FSU
Source: The Clemson Insider