OXFORD, Miss. — Sometimes, all it takes is one play to turn the direction of a ballgame. That was the case Friday afternoon in Game 1 of the Oxford (Miss.) Regional.

Clinging to a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, No. 3 seed Clemson found itself in trouble when Illinois loaded the bases with one out.

“A hit right there, a walk, anything changes the momentum and they’re back in it,” Clemson catcher Kyle Wilkie said following the Tigers’ 8-4 victory over No. 2 seed Illinois at Swayze Field in Oxford.

However, the momentum shifted to the Clemson dugout when second baseman Jordan Greene backhanded a Michael Massey hit up the middle, flipped the baseball out of his glove to shortstop Logan Davidson for the first out at second, who then threw it on to first to complete the 4-6-3 double play, ending the Illini’s last serious threat in the game.

“That was a big play and that was a really tough play, a backhand ball by Jordan up the middle and then he gloved flipped the ball to Logan,” Clemson head coach Monte Lee said. “The most impressive part of that play was that Logan was able to catch the ball because that feed was below his knees and then to be able to turn the double play was big.”

It was big because it not only got the Tigers (35-24) out of danger, but it also led to a three-run seventh inning that allowed Clemson to put the game away.

With no outs, Wilkie singled to right field to score Green and Davidson for a 6-3 lead. The Tigers added another run later in the inning after Greene battled for a fielder’s choice to short, which allowed Byrd to score the Tigers’ seventh run of the game.

“A double play like that, we turn it, that was huge for our ballclub,” Wilkie said.

Clemson added on an extra run in the top of the eighth inning, and now advance to the winner’s bracket game in the Oxford Regional where it will face host and top seed Ole Miss tonight (7 p.m.) in Game 4.

Greene’s and Davidson’s double play was not the only good play the Tigers’ defense made in Friday’s game. Sam Hall made a diving catch in left field early in the game that robbed the Illini of extra bases and in the third inning Davidson made a play and throw from deep in the hole on the left side of the infield to avoid another possible big inning from Illinois.

“We played really well defensively,” Lee said. “We are fielding .970 plus. I feel like defensively, we have been a better team in the second half of the season, quite honestly, even though I know we had some tough stretches. But I feel like our infield defense has been pretty dang good and our outfield defense has really been good all year. So, we have been pretty consistent.”