Robert Jolly is a fighter, which is exactly why Monte Lee started him in the No. 5 hole for 12th-ranked Clemson on Friday.

Down three runs to William & Mary with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning with Seth Beer and Chris Williams standing at second and third base, Jolly singled to left field, plating both runners and giving the Tigers hope.

Sam Hall, pinch running for Jolly, stole second and eventually scored on a wild pitch to send the game into extra innings. In the 10th, Williams’ single through the left side, scoring Bryce Teodosio for the game-winner in a 5-4 victory in front of 6,062 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

“I was just looking for a good pitch to hit,” Jolly said after the game. “I see submariners pretty well and I have throughout my career. I knew if I got a good pitch to hit I just wanted to put a good swing on it and stay within myself.

“So with two strikes, I just got up on the dish and I was just looking for something up and over the plate that I could really handle. It was there so I just took my best swing.”

Jolly’s swing was set up when Beer was then hit by a pitch to keep Clemson alive and Williams doubled down the left field line. With Beer and Williams now in scoring position it was up to designated hitter Robert Jolly to deliver and he did just that.

“We just have the same type of mindset throughout a game,” Jolly said. “Every at-bat counts and once you’re done with an at-bat there’s nothing you can do about it so there’s no reason to worry about it anymore.

“We knew going into that ninth inning that we have the talent and the toughness to push through and put good at-bats together. That’s just what we do … we push and keeping pushing forward and let the struggles stay in the past because it can’t help us anymore in the future.”

However, Jolly used his past experiences to battle for the Tigers in the ninth inning, which is exactly why Lee started him on Friday.

With a left-handed starter going against Clemson in the Tribes’ Bodie Sheehan, Lee had a hard time trying to figure out what he was going to do with the five spot in the lineup.

“I said, ‘I have to put somebody behind Chris Williams in the five hole that can give us competitive at-bats.’ That five-spot in the lineup, it is amazing if you watch a game, how many times he comes up with a runner at second base and two outs,” the Clemson coach said. “It just seems to happen because three and four will clean up on some sac-flies and RBIs and the five-hole guy has to be able to give you a two-out single, double and drive a runner in.

“That is why we put Robert in there. He gives you quality, competitive at-bats and he kept us in the ballgame and he gave us a chance.”

For Jolly, he was just happy to have the opportunity and even more excited he was able to help his team win the game.

“What an experience,” he said. “It was my first opening day start. It was my first opening day win in my career and it was a dream come true. It was just so much fun and these guys fight so hard. They deserve everything they got.”

Jolly feels a win like Friday’s, especially in the season opener, is a great way to create confidence and the mentality that even when the team is down, they are never out.

“I think it builds confidence,” he said. “I think we have some young guys who have the chance to be in the game like Sam Hall. Bryce (Teodosio) had a great game for his first career start playing in centerfield.

“It just kind of builds the camaraderie to get that first experience of extra innings. We struggled and overcame and that kind of is the mantra of our team anyways, so to be able to get the whole team into that in the first game is going to be huge going forward.”