Win or go home: Auburn’s Tigers force elimination game versus Clemson |
CLEMSON - Auburn softball pinned a rare defeat on Clemson’s Tigers in McWhorter Stadium to force a winner-take-all for the NCAA Super Regionals, taking game one of the regional final 5-2 on Sunday.
The teams are set to play approximately 35 minutes after game one (3:05 p.m.). Clemson dropped to 26-4 at home this season and the defeat was only the third for the program all-time versus a team ranked outside of the top-15 at home. It was also the first loss for Clemson in a home regional for the young program, which is 5-1 now in its third full year as a team. The Auburn Tigers struck first with its first two batters reaching on ACC player of the year and national player of the finalist Valerie Cagle (24-6), which set up Bri Ellis hammering her 14th home run of the season to make it 3-0 for the SEC Tigers. Auburn ace Maddie Penta (27-6), after having five runs charged to her in Saturday’s 7-0 loss to Clemson, was able to work in and out of trouble on Sunday. Clemson stranded three runners in the first three innings, but the ACC Tigers got a run back with an Alia Logoleo opposite-field line-drive over the right field wall. After Cagle pitched a 1-hit complete-game shutout on Saturday against Auburn, Clemson coach John Rittman opted to limit Cagle’s innings in the regional final opener, moving her to first base after three innings and bringing in right-handed pitcher Regan Spencer. Spencer gave up a leadoff hit and then an RBI double later off Nelia Peralta’s bat to the left field corner, building back Auburn’s advantage to three runs. Clemson’s bats threatened again in the fifth inning, loading up the bases with two out, and Caroline Jacobsen worked a walk for an RBI. After falling to a 3-0 count to Logoleo, Penta fired one past her for Penta’s fifth strikeout of the game. Auburn manufactured some insurance in the sixth inning with an RBI single to go back up three runs. Penta notched her 17th complete game of the season with two more strikeouts in the seventh to tally seven for the contest. She finished with 139 pitches thrown. The winner-take-all victor will likely head to No. 1 Oklahoma for the Super Regional, which started their regional 2-0 by a 22-0 combined score.
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