Coming off of a series loss to South Carolina, someone needed to step up and give No. 20 Clemson the momentum the Tigers needed to get things rolling again.

Luckily for them, Jackson Lindley did just that in his first college start.

The freshman out of Anderson, S.C., gave up five hits in 4 2/3 innings of work, but only one run, three walks and had three strikeouts as Clemson defeated Furman 3-1 at Fluor Field in Greenville.

“It was awesome getting my first start,” Lindley said after the game, “especially for my first college start being here (Fluor Field). This is a great atmosphere. I loved it and it was just a great experience.”

After the Paladins (2-8) took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, Lindley settled in and cruised from there.

“All of my pitches were working pretty good,” he said. “They’re a good team. They hit me around a little bit and made some tough at-bats.

“I give credit to them, they put some tough at-bats together but I felt good out there.”

Clemson (9-3), who was hit-less going into the fourth inning, put a rally together to take a 2-1 lead.

Lindley is thankful for the defense he has behind him who helped lead Clemson to a win.

“It’s great having (Grayson) Byrd out there and Logan (Davidson) out there,” he said. “Especially Jordan (Greene), veteran guys, it just makes me so much more confident out there.”

The Tigers return to Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Friday as they start ACC play against No. 3 North Carolina in a weekend series.