No. 1 Sooners rally late to eliminate Clemson from NCAA Super Regionals |
One more strike.
That’s all that separated Clemson and a historic win at No. 1 Oklahoma on Saturday. Instead, that third pitch Valerie Cagle fired in the zone went deep to left field and over the fence to tie things up in the seventh inning and help force extra innings. There, the Sooners (56-1) finished out what they’ve done in an NCAA-record 48 consecutive games and 115 of the last 117 contests at Marita Hynes Field: win, eliminating the Tigers (49-12) from the 2023 NCAA Tournament with an 8-7 victory in extra innings. Oklahoma notched a 23rd win over a ranked opponent this season, while No. 16 national seed Clemson fell to 6-10 against Top 25 teams and 0-6 against Top 10 foes in 2023. "They're champions for a reason and it showed today," Clemson coach John Rittman said of Oklahoma. "I'm so proud of how our Tigers fought. There's just so little margin of error against a team like Oklahoma, but for us to come here and play the way we did in two games and push them to the limit today, it's just a testament to our players, our staff and the belief we have in our program and in our abilities. We have some great players and I think it showed on the field today. "Just the quality of product we've put on the field for these last four years is remarkable." A day after matching the season-high in hits versus Oklahoma in Friday’s 9-2 loss (8), the hits were harder to come by against Sooners starter Nicole May. May kept Clemson off the bases through two innings, but Clemson catcher Aby Vieira led off the third with a basehit and was joined after one out by Reedy Davenport. Tigers center fielder McKenzie Clark lined a pitch that Tiare Jennings snagged on a jump and Jennings doubled off the runner at second base to end the threat. Clemson’s bats weren’t done, however. Down to two outs in the fourth frame, Caroline Jacobsen lined a double to left field, Alia Logoleo then worked a walk after a full count and Maddie Moore brought in all three runs in with a home run to left field. Down a run in the fifth, Clark got another opportunity with a runner on and took full advantage, sending a two-run homer to center field to capture the lead off of Oklahoma reliever Alex Storako. Clemson kept the pressure on and loaded the bases ahead of the Sooners going to left-hander Kierston Deal. Deal promptly walked Logoleo on four pitches to bring another Tiger in. Moore then drove in her fourth run of the game on a groundout. Clemson's Rittman opted to start his national player of the year finalist Cagle (25-8) in the field first, but he went to his ace with one on and no out in the sixth inning and Cagle had the Tigers one strike away from the win after seven. But two on base and an 0-2 count, Kinzie Hansen sent the Sooners' fourth home run of the day to left field to tie the game. Cagle reached a full count to the next two Sooners and they both walked, but she induced a grounder to get out of the jam. In the bottom half of the inning, Big 12 pitcher of the year Jordy Bahl (18-1) went to a full count with Cagle and struck her out swinging within a 1-2-3 frame, and Cagle returned the favor with a 1-2-3 half-inning of her own in the top of the eighth – first baseman Madison May laying out for a diving grab to end it. Bahl kept Clemson hitless again in bottom of the eighth, and Jennings struck for her second home run on pitch one of the ninth to take the go-ahead lead and chase Cagle. Regan Spencer induced a double play to keep the deficit at one run. With two down in the ninth, Clark kept Clemson's hopes alive with a single that dropped in center field, but with Cagle watching on deck, Ally Miklesh flied out to center field to end the game. All the way back in the first inning, Oklahoma greeted Clemson right-handed starter Brooke McCubbin with consecutive home runs from the first two batters of the game, which was the 10th time the prolific Sooners lineup had homered back-to-back on the season. Before getting pulled in the fourth inning, McCubbin gave a third solo home run, which matched the number of home runs she gave up over 70 innings all season previously. The Sooners tagged her with one more earned run after she left to tally four charged in 3 1/3 innings, giving up five hits with two strikeouts and a hit batter in her seventh start of the season. In only its third full season as a program, Clemson made its second consecutive Super Regional round after also advancing to the state of Oklahoma last year and falling to Oklahoma State in two games. "My heart hurts for my players," Rittman said. "They've given everything to this program, especially the ones who've worn the uniform for the last time. Couldn't be more proud of them and their contributions to the program and can't wait to see the women they become moving forward. I know they've learned a lot in our program and they've been a special part of it."
EQUALIZED!!!! 😱#RoadToWCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @OU_Softball pic.twitter.com/nk1SNG0upJ
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 27, 2023
MCKENZIE. CLARK. @clemsonsoftball takes the lead 😱 pic.twitter.com/ieRzI3qsfo
— ESPN (@espn) May 27, 2023
Maddie Moore makes the rockin' world go round (the bases) pic.twitter.com/xEfsr2nZ6E
— Clemson Softball 🥎 (@clemsonsoftball) May 27, 2023
This Tiger defense is insane! 🤯#RoadToWCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @clemsonsoftball pic.twitter.com/0sXyO13DOd
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 27, 2023
This team 🫶 pic.twitter.com/0b4H006hPv
— Clemson Softball 🥎 (@clemsonsoftball) May 27, 2023
The heart of this program 🧡💜 pic.twitter.com/cCNZk4OV3d
— Clemson Softball 🥎 (@clemsonsoftball) May 27, 2023
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
