In the second-ever meeting between the in-state rivals, the first in McWhorter Stadium, Clemson brought the heat early on en route to their 8-1 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks in Clemson.
It all came down to a huge first inning for the Tigers, who scored five of their eventual eight runs in the first thanks to Valerie Cagle’s three-run bomb to left and two more runs brought in by a Gamecock error at second and an RBI single by infielder Maddie Moore.
Clemson ace Valerie Cagle earns the win and complete game in the circle for the Tigers, coming away with eleven strikeouts and her ninth win of the season. Righthander Bailey Betenbaugh takes the loss for the Gamecocks.
Clemson got the bats rolling early on in Wednesday evening’s midweek matchup versus the Gamecocks. In the first with runners on second and third, Cagle hit a bomb to deep left field good for three runs. The Tigers struck yet again, bringing in two more runs on an error and Moore’s RBI single to left field. Clemson led 5-0 after one.
The Tigers kept the scoring alive into the second. With a runner on second, left fielder Sam Russ reached on a fielding error that also scored pinch runner Arielle Oda to put Clemson up 6-0.
South Carolina responded with a run of their own in the top of the third. After advancing to second on a wild pitch and later to third with two outs, center fielder Aaliyah White scored the Gamecock’s lone run of the night on a wild pitch.
Alia Logoleo and McKenzie Clark both struck again for the Tigers in the fifth and sixth respectively, with solo homers to left center field, good for a final score of 8-1.
With the win, eighteenth-ranked Clemson now leads the series 2-0 over the Gamecocks and improves to 22-10 this season.
Later this week, Clemson travels to Chapel Hill, N.C. to take on the North Carolina Tarheels in a three-game weekend series. The Tigers open up series play Friday, April 1, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. on ACCNX.