Tigers top Tar Heels in extras to advance to ACC Tournament semifinals

Clemson's pitching and defense kept the Tigers in it in a tight affair in the quarterfinals win over UNC.(Clemson athletics photo)

by TigerNet Staff - Thu May 11 22:56:25 GMT-04:00 2023

Clemson softball has made the semifinals in every ACC Tournament the program has played in to this point, but punching that ticket wasn’t easy Thursday night in South Bend, Indiana.

The No. 7-ranked and ACC third-seeded Tigers (46-8) went to extras to top sixth-seeded North Carolina (26-28), 2-1.

Ally Miklesh led off the Clemson eighth inning with a double to left center and made it to third base on a passed ball while UNC was intentionally walking Valerie Cagle. Miklesh was then opportunistic again after another pitch got away from the Tar Heels catcher Isabela Emerling and she rushed home for the game-winning score.

Miklesh led the Tigers by reaching base three times on the night, going 2-for-3 with a walk and RBI.

The Tigers take on conference 2-seed and No. 6 overall Duke for the first time this season in a 1:30 p.m. start Friday (ACCN).

“Just a wonderful performance by Valerie Cagle in the circle,” said Clemson head coach John Rittman, per a Clemson news release. “She never ceases to amaze us. She had electric stuff tonight. North Carolina has speed in their lineup to help manufacture a run.

"It was a big night offensively for us. JoJo (Hyatt) sparked us early in the game with the walk, and Reedy (Davenport) bunted her to second. Ally (Miklesh) came up clutch with the big two-out hit to bring home Ansley (Houston). It was a pitchers’ duel, but we stayed resilient and composed. Again, in the eighth inning, Miklesh came up huge with the leadoff double, and I can’t say enough about her. Valerie was patient to draw the walk, and when you are in postseason play, you find ways to win. That’s what we did with Miklesh advancing two bases on a passed ball and a wild pitch for us to score and win. The bottom line is that we are moving onto tomorrow and looking forward to the challenge of playing Duke.”

It was slow going for the bats on both sides.

Clemson didn’t break through for a hit until the third inning, where after JoJo Hyatt worked a leadoff walk – the Tigers manufactured the game’s first run with pinch-runner Ansley Houston coming home on that first hit from Miklesh.

UNC answered in the next half-inning, however, with Skyler Brooks’ infield RBI single scoring a Tar Heel runner from second after Brooks beat the throw at first base.

Cagle (23-5) was otherwise dominant in the circle though, tallying nine strikeouts through the first five innings.

The Tigers attempted a two-out rally in the bottom half of the fifth after McKenzie Clark singled up the middle and Miklesh walked, but UNC’s Lilli Backes (16-14) struck out Cagle swinging.

Through six innings, Cagle topped the double-digit strikeout mark, reaching that mark for a third time in an ACC Tournament start in her career and matching a season-best with 11 punch-outs. Cagle added one more strikeout in the seventh to nab that season-best.

"I just think for the first time this year, everything was working for me in the circle," Cagle told ACC Network after the game. "But I also had a great defense behind me and JoJo did great behind the plate, which really allowed me to be comfortable and throw my pitches and let them move."

Cagle’s opposite number Backes went well into the triple-digits in pitches overall for a 1-2-3 seventh frame, reaching seven strikeouts to clinch extra innings.

The Tar Heels appeared to have the go-ahead runner on second base in the eighth inning after a sacrifice fly, but the umpires determined that UNC committed a substitution error (they had a pinch-runner and pinch-hitter before the flyout) and the runner had to go back to first base, where Cagle induced a double play to end the inning.

Cagle finished allowing only three hits over eight frames and just one walk with the 12 strikeouts.

Clemson has won all eight meetings with UNC all-time.

WHAT. AN. ENDING. 🤯@ClemsonSoftball is headed to the ACC semis! pic.twitter.com/PcuCOmGVgR
— Clemson Athletics (@ClemsonTigers) May 12, 2023

7️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘁!

Congratulations, Valerie Cagle! 🎉@ClemsonSoftball | @Val_Cagle pic.twitter.com/Wu2KOEzFjv
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) May 12, 2023

"Everything was working for me in the circle."

Valerie Cagle after a 12-strikeout performance vs. UNC 🔥 @ClemsonSoftball pic.twitter.com/LruwdjL7Cs
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) May 12, 2023