No. 8 Tigers clinch series over Wolfpack in slugfest |
CLEMSON - No. 8 Clemson defeated NC State 14-9 to clinch the series on Sunday afternoon at McWhorter Stadium. The two teams combined for 26 hits, five home runs and five errors.
The top of the first inning started with a bang. After a solo home run from NC State (14-5), the Wolfpack put up another four runs, partly because of Clemson’s three errors, to give them a 5-0 lead. Clemson (13-4) responded with a single from redshirt senior pitcher Valerie Cagle to send senior outfielder McKenzie Clark home. Right after, redshirt senior infielder Alia Logoleo hit a homer to score her and Cagle, cutting into the Wolfpack’s lead for a score of 5-3 at the end of the first inning. NC State failed to score in the top of the second, allowing the Tigers to take the lead. They took advantage of this opportunity with a three-run homer from Cagle. A double from graduate infielder Lindsey Garcia moved Logoleo around, giving Garcia her fourth RBI as a Clemson Tiger. Immediately after, junior infielder Maddie Moore hit a double to send Garcia home, to give Clemson the 8-5 lead at the end of the second inning. Garcia’s run was unearned because of a fielding error by the Wolfpack. The Wolfpack responded quickly with five hits in the top of the third inning, leading to four runs and regaining the lead at 9-8. Clemson failed to score in the bottom of the third. In the top of the fourth, the Wolfpack were able to get bases loaded with two outs; however, a foul out, caught by redshirt senior catcher JoJo Hyatt, prevented NC State from adding to its lead and allowed Clemson to take the lead back in the bottom of the fourth inning. Again, the Tigers would take advantage of this opportunity. Following a double by Cagle, junior catcher Aby Vieira hit a double, scoring Cagle and tying the game up at 9-9. Then, Moore hit her third home run of the season, giving Clemson the 11-9 lead. The Wolfpack failed to score in the fifth inning, the first time in the game either team went multiple innings without scoring any runs. Clemson took advantage once again and extended its lead with a three-run homer from Clark, giving the Tigers a 14-9 lead. For the first time in the game, neither team scored in the sixth inning. NC State then failed to score in the seventh inning as well. The Tigers' 15 hits, 14 runs, 13 RBIs, and three doubles in this game all marked season-highs. Their four home runs also tied a season-high they set back in their season opener against Missouri State on February 8. Individually, Cagle tied her career-high in runs with three. Junior utility player Alex Brown and Hyatt both tied their career high in at-bats with four. Cagle pitched the first 2.1 innings of the game, allowing six hits and nine runs out of the 16 batters she faced. The nine runs allowed by Cagle marked a season-high for her; 2.1 innings is also the least amount of innings Cagle has pitched in a game she has started this season. Senior right-handed pitcher Regan Spencer (1-0) pitched the next 1.2 innings, facing 12 batters and allowing four hits; she had one strikeout and did not allow a single run. Junior right-hander Brooke McCubbin finished the game in the final three innings for the save (1), only allowing one hit and throwing 27 strikes in the ten batters she faced. Clemson faces Tennessee on Tuesday, March 5 (6 p.m./ACCNX), followed by the beginning of the Tiger Invitational with a double-header against Minnesota on Thursday, March 7 (4 p.m./ACCNX and 6 p.m./ACCNX). B5 | 🤯🤯🤯 B4 | California lovin' this 🫶 We've got a game here at McWhorter‼️ pic.twitter.com/9MwJZ9KiWk TIGERS WIN! TIGERS WIN!!
McKenzie Clark hits a three run home run to give the Tigers a 14-9 lead 👏
📺 ACCNX
📊 https://t.co/EW84v07Uk8 pic.twitter.com/wGUjwCjOC3
Maddie Moore picks up her 3rd home run of the season with a 2 run bomb!!
📺 ACCNX
📊 https://t.co/EW84v07Uk8 pic.twitter.com/rUeEAHTgez
Clemson gets the 14-9 victory over NC State to clinch the first ACC series! pic.twitter.com/xJqZ3vjNnW
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
