Clemson Softball announces their 2023 schedule

Clemson softball releases their 2023 schedule.

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson softball program is taking the next step towards 2023 after announcing the regular-season schedule on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The Tigers are set to play 53 regular season games, 28 of which will be played in McWhorter Stadium. Clemson will face 10 opponents over 18 games that finished in the NCAA RPI Top 50 of 2022, and 17 opponents over 36 games that finished in the NCAA RPI Top 100.

Season ticket renewals will begin Nov. 11 on ClemsonTigers.com. Renewals are available for $300 ($12 per game) for a reserved seat in Section 4, for $250 ($10 per game) for a reserved seat in Section 1-3 and Sections 5-7 and $150 ($6 per game) for a general admission berm ticket. Season-ticket holders will have until December 12 to renew their seats.

Single-game tickets will be available at a later date. If interested in season tickets, fans can be added to the waitlist here.

The Tigers are coming off their first NCAA Super Regional and second postseason appearance in only the third year of the program. Head Coach John Rittman led Clemson to a 42-17 overall record in 2022, and the Tigers made an ACC Championship game appearance in each of the last two seasons.

Rittman and the Tigers will open the 2023 slate in Miami, Fla., at the FIU Tournament. Clemson will play five games over the course of four days against tournament-host FIU, Georgia State and Kansas City beginning on Feb. 9. Clemson will also travel to Tampa, Fla., Feb. 23-26 for a tournament at USF playing tournament-host USF, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Michigan State, and Tennessee.

Clemson opens the home-portion of the season in McWhorter Stadium on Feb. 17 with the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, playing two games each against Northwestern and Ohio State. The Tigers will also host the Clemson Classic March 10-12 welcoming Bryant, Jacksonville and UNCG.

The Tigers open ACC play March 3 with a three-game series at home against Syracuse. Other ACC foes coming to Clemson include Virginia (March 17-19), Florida State (April 6-8) and Pittsburgh (April 21-23).

Clemson’s first ACC road trip comes March 24-26 when visiting Georgia Tech. The Tigers are also slated to visit Boston College (March 31-April 2), NC State (April 14-16) and conclude the 2023 regular-season at Virginia Tech (April 28-30).

Non-conference competition is highlighted by home-and-home series against Furman and in-state rival South Carolina. Other opponents coming to Clemson include Georgia (Feb. 21), Gardner-Webb (March 1), Mercer (March 8), Charlotte (March 15) and Winthrop (April 18). The Tigers will conclude non-conference play at Liberty on April 26.

All dates and times for the 2023 season are subject to change.

Ticket Information | Schedule (HTML) | Schedule (PDF)

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Rittman provides season outlook with Clemson softball ‘ready to take next step’

After a season in which Clemson experienced being the hunted rather than the hunters, coach John Rittman acknowledged that Clemson softball is no longer going to be sneaking up on opponents. Teams across the country will be ready to play the Tigers …

After a season in which Clemson experienced being the hunted rather than the hunters, coach John Rittman acknowledged that Clemson softball is no longer going to be sneaking up on opponents. Teams across the country will be ready to play the Tigers

Rittman and his staff learned how to manage those expectations last year after playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. The Tigers advanced to the super regionals in their second full year as a program.

Speaking with The Clemson Insider at Dear Old Clemson’s NIL event in Clemson Saturday, Rittman provided a season outlook and how his program will navigate the heightened expectations that come with a lot of success.

“We’re so excited to have this new group on campus,” Rittman said “Looking forward to another great year. We had a great off-season. Obviously, working really hard to take that next step for this season. We’ve had such a rapid rise in the rankings and regionals are in our first full season, of course, super regionals last year. 

“Our main objective is to keep working hard, stay humble and play the game the way it’s supposed to be played and, of course, our main goal is to try to get to a Women’s College World Series. There’s a lot that goes into that and we have to take care of business and prepare and get ourselves ready this fall.”

Rittman said that he’s looking forward to coaching the young core of players that Clemson has, as well as some of the additions that the Tigers made to the roster during that offseason. Rittman and staff brought in one freshman in the 2022 recruiting class and three transfers.

The lone incoming freshman coming is first baseman Marena Knowles, who Rittman described as a “versatile left-handed hitter.” Clemson also added three grad transfers — outfielder Caroline Jacobsen (Duke), outfielder Ally Miklesh (Wisconsin) and infielder Reedy Davenport (Florida Gulf Coast).

“Starting with Caroline Jacobsen, an outfielder from Duke University — great hitter, great athletic softball player,” Rittman said when asked about Clemson’s incoming grad transfers, “and so she’s going to add a lot to our program. As well as Ally Miklesh, she’s an outfielder transfer from the University of Wisconsin. Tremendous player, with good range and speed. She’s gonna provide a lot for us. And then we have Reedy Davenport, an infielder from Florida Gulf Coast University — another grad transfer.”

“Plugging in some leadership,” Rittman continued. “Plugging in kids with experience, along with our returners. Of course, competition breeds success and this fall, we’re gonna have a lot of competition for some positions and I’m looking forward to it.”

Clemson will do so with losses of some key components like Marissa Guimbarda, Cammy Pereira and Sam Russ, who all exhausted their eligibility following the completion of the 2021-22 season. Guimbarda and Pereira aren’t easy to replace, as they’re two players who nearly started every game at Clemson.

“It’s something where you do some great recruiting and you get out there and the program is in a good place right now,” Rittman said. We’re attracting some of the top players in the country. But, we all know last year is last year. This is a new year and we kind of have to be prepared and ready to take that next step.”

With that said, how has Rittman felt like recruiting has changed with the heightened success of the program?

“I think it’s definitely changed,” he said. “Success of the program has opened up a lot of doors for us nationally. Clemson is a national brand, thanks to the great athletic tradition of all of our sports here. But, our success, our ability to play on TV, to play on that national stage, has opened up a lot of doors in recruiting for Clemson softball.”

Rittman acknowledged that getting to this point hasn’t been a perfect, smooth run for this program.

“A lot of people think just because we won, we haven’t had any adversity or ups and downs, but we have,” Rittman said, “and we’ve learned from our mistakes. We played through injuries. We played through COVID. We played through a lot of situations and it’s helped mold our team and our program to where we’re at today.”

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Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out all the different ways you can help!

Clemson, Rittman reach new agreement

Clemson and Rittman reach new agreement.

Via Clemson Athletic Communications:

CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson University and head softball coach John Rittman have agreed to a five-year contract extension through 2027, the athletic department announced Thursday. The terms of the contract were approved by the Clemson University Board of Trustees Compensation Committee.

“The speed in which Coach Rittman and his staff have elevated our softball program to national prominence has been so impactful to Clemson,” said Director of Athletics Graham Neff. “We are excited to watch this program flourish under Coach Rittman’s leadership at Clemson for years to come.”

“I am extremely honored and proud to be the Head Softball Coach at Clemson University,” said Rittman. “I would like to thank the Board of Trustees, President Clements, Director of Athletics Graham Neff, Associate Athletics Director Natalie Honnen and IPTAY for their continued support and commitment to me and our program. Clemson is such a special place, and I am so grateful to be able to work alongside such outstanding coaches, staff, players and alums. Together we have built a winning culture, and we will continue working hard to achieve all our goals both on and off the field.”

Rittman has compiled a 105-33 record over the first three seasons of the Clemson softball program, including posting a 62-11 record at McWhorter Stadium. Rittman was named the 2021 ACC Coach of the Year and guided the Tigers to become 2021 ACC Regular Season Champions, advanced to the 2021 and 2022 ACC Championship games and made two NCAA Postseason appearances.

Most recently, Clemson hosted the 2022 Clemson NCAA Softball Regional where the softball team swept the regional against Auburn, Louisiana and UNC Wilmington after scoring 18 runs while shutting out opponents in every game and run-ruling Louisiana and UNCW. The Tigers advanced to the program’s first Super Regional taking on Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla.

With Rittman at the helm, the Tigers have propelled themselves to new heights each year. During the 2022 season, Clemson upset then-No. 6 Washington, 2-0, to mark the program’s first top-10 win. The Tigers later went on to upset then-No. 2 Virginia Tech, 4-1, in the ACC Championship semifinals to mark the highest victory over a ranked opponent.

Clemson followed that by playing its 100th game in program history and tied Clemson women’s tennis for the most wins through a program’s first 100 games with a 78-22 record. With that record, Rittman solidified himself as the winningest coach among active head coaches at Clemson surpassing Dabo Swinney, who held a 74-26 record. The Tigers continued to reach new levels by winning their 100th game in only 130 games on May 1 with a 3-2 win against Georgia Tech on Senior Day to become the second-fastest program at Clemson to reach 100 wins trailing only women’s tennis (128).

Under Rittman’s direction, the softball program has 14 All-ACC selections, 14 All-ACC Academic selections and 61 ACC Academic Honor Roll honorees. Valerie Cagle is a two-time NFCA All-American and graduate Sam Russ was named to CoSIDA’s Academic All-America Third Team to become softball’s first Academic All-American. Three Tigers have also been awarded the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship Award from the ACC.

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Clemson, Rittman reach new agreement

CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson University and head softball coach John Rittman have agreed to a five-year contract extension through 2027, the athletic department announced Thursday. The terms of the contract were approved by the Clemson University Board …

CLEMSON, S.C.  — Clemson University and head softball coach John Rittman have agreed to a five-year contract extension through 2027, the athletic department announced Thursday. The terms of the contract were approved by the Clemson University Board of Trustees Compensation Committee. 

“The speed in which Coach Rittman and his staff have elevated our softball program to national prominence has been so impactful to Clemson,”said Director of Athletics Graham Neff. “We are excited to watch this program flourish under Coach Rittman’s leadership at Clemson for years to come.” 

“I am extremely honored and proud to be the Head Softball Coach at Clemson University,” said Rittman. “I would like to thank the Board of Trustees, President Clements, Director of Athletics Graham Neff, Associate Athletics Director Natalie Honnen and IPTAY for their continued support and commitment to me and our program. Clemson is such a special place, and I am so grateful to be able to work alongside such outstanding coaches, staff, players and alums. Together we have built a winning culture, and we will continue working hard to achieve all our goals both on and off the field.” 

Rittman has compiled a 105-33 record over the first three seasons of the Clemson softball program, including posting a 62-11 record at McWhorter Stadium. Rittman was named the 2021 ACC Coach of the Year and guided the Tigers to become 2021 ACC Regular Season Champions, advanced to the 2021 and 2022 ACC Championship games and made two NCAA Postseason appearances. 

Most recently, Clemson hosted the 2022 Clemson NCAA Softball Regional where the softball team swept the regional against Auburn, Louisiana and UNC Wilmington after scoring 18 runs while shutting out opponents in every game and run-ruling Louisiana and UNCW. The Tigers advanced to the program’s first Super Regional taking on Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla. 

With Rittman at the helm, the Tigers have propelled themselves to new heights each year. During the 2022 season, Clemson upset then-No. 6 Washington, 2-0, to mark the program’s first top-10 win. The Tigers later went on to upset then-No. 2 Virginia Tech, 4-1, in the ACC Championship semifinals to mark the highest victory over a ranked opponent. 

Clemson followed that by playing its 100th game in program history and tied Clemson women’s tennis for the most wins through a program’s first 100 games with a 78-22 record. With that record, Rittman solidified himself as the winningest coach among active head coaches at Clemson surpassing Dabo Swinney, who held a 74-26 record. The Tigers continued to reach new levels by winning their 100th game in only 130 games on May 1 with a 3-2 win against Georgia Tech on Senior Day to become the second-fastest program at Clemson to reach 100 wins trailing only women’s tennis (128).

Under Rittman’s direction, the softball program has 14 All-ACC selections, 14 All-ACC Academic selections and 61 ACC Academic Honor Roll honorees. Valerie Cagle is a two-time NFCA All-American and graduate Sam Russ was named to CoSIDA’s Academic All-America Third Team to become softball’s first Academic All-American. Three Tigers have also been awarded the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship Award from the ACC.

— Courtesy of Clemson Athletic Communications

Harper joins Tiger softball staff

Tigers announced the new addition to their #Team4 staff on Tuesday.

Via Clemson Athletic Communications:

Clemson softball head coach John Rittman announced the addition of former Arizona Wildcat standout Jessie Harper to his coaching staff for the upcoming 2022-23 season.

Harper joins the Tiger staff after she served as Arizona’s graduate assistant for the 2022 season, helping guide the Wildcats to a Women’s College World Series appearance. Her stint with the Wildcat coaching staff came after an accomplished playing career for the squad and after being drafted to play in the Athletes Unlimited professional league for the WFP Pride.

During her collegiate career, Harper excelled on the field being named a three-time All-American at two different positions (first base and shortstop), including being a 2017 first-team selection. She was a four-time All-Pac-12 First Team and NFCA West Region selection and concluded her career tied for first in Arizona history and third all-time in the NCAA with 92 home runs. She led the Pac-12 in homers in 2019 (29) and 2020 (10) and led the NCAA in 2019 to become the 10th Wildcat to lead the country in homers and first to do so since 2009.

She led the Wildcats to the Women’s College World Series as a student-athlete in both 2019 and 2021 and to Super Regionals during her freshman (2017) and sophomore (2018) campaigns. She finished eighth in Arizona’s history in career slugging percentage (.744) and finished sixth with 255 RBI. Off the field, she was an Academic All-American and two-time Academic All-District selection as well as the 2021 Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year. She was a Senior CLASS Award Finalist in 2021 and was a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree.

The Stevenson Ranch, California native graduated with a degree in sociology in 2020 before completing her master’s in educational leadership in 2022.

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‘This place is only going up from here’

Amid the somber reality of their historic season prematurely reaching its conclusion, Clemson softball coach John Rittman and his players spent a lot of time pondering aloud where they’ve been and where they hope to be going sooner rather than …

Amid the somber reality of their historic season prematurely reaching its conclusion, Clemson softball coach John Rittman and his players spent a lot of time pondering aloud where they’ve been and where they hope to be going sooner rather than later.

The Tigers’ bid for their first-ever Women’s College World Series appearance fell short in Oklahoma late last week. Oklahoma State became the first team to clinch its spot in this year’s WCWS by sweeping Clemson in the Stillwater Super Regional, stopping the music on Clemson’s postseason party, one highlighted by the program’s first regional championship and a super regional debut.

“It’s never easy when you win your last game, but this season has been so special,” Rittman told reporters following the Tigers’ final loss late Friday night.

Rittman couldn’t help but think back to what his program has accomplished in such a short period of time. Clemson has only played two full seasons of softball after its inaugural 2020 campaign was canceled in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Yet the Tigers already have 105 wins, an ACC regular-season title and a pair of conference tournament title game appearances.

As for the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers have just two goals they have yet to reach outside of hosting their own super regional: Getting to the WCWS and winning it. Senior infielder Cammy Pereira looked to the team that kept Clemson from potentially accomplishing that this year as a reference for the kind of staying power the Tigers could have as they grow older as a program.

Oklahoma State, which has been playing softball since the 1970s, has made all four of its WCWS appearances since 2011. The Cowgirls are making their third consecutive trip this year.

“That’s really a testament to a team like Oklahoma State,” Pereira said. “You see their wall covered with all the accolades since back in the ‘90s. We’ve been around for two and a half years, so that will be something that I’m looking forward to seeing in the future is our wall covered like that as well because this place is only going up from here.”

Clemson has a young nucleus that should keep the Tigers among the ACC’s elite should it return intact next season, most notably two-way star and all-conference first-teamer Valerie Cagle. All of the Tigers’ other all-ACC performers this season – pitcher Millie Thompson, shortstop Alia Logoleo, outfielder McKenzie Clark and catcher Aby Vieira – were also sophomores or freshmen.

Clark made a point to thank the upperclassmen who helped show the younger players the ropes, including five outgoing seniors who all transferred into the program during its infancy. Rittman said his first group of seniors will be missed.

“They kind of set the standard for this program for years to come,” Rittman said. “They’ve left a legacy.”

With the help of their guidance, Clark said the program is in solid position to get where it ultimately wants to be this time of year.

“(The seniors) have given us opportunities. They’ve given us wisdom,” Clark said. “They’ve given us all the tools that we need for the next few years to come.”

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Clemson drops Game 1 of the Stillwatwer Super Regional

Clemson softball lost Game 1 of the Stillwater Super Regional Thurdsy, falling to Oklahoma State and Kelly Maxwell, 2-0. Offense was hard to come by for the Tigers against the Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Year. Maxwell two-hit Clemson Thursday night, …

Clemson softball lost Game 1 of the Stillwater Super Regional Thurdsy, falling to Oklahoma State and Kelly Maxwell, 2-0.

Offense was hard to come by for the Tigers against the Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Year. Maxwell two-hit Clemson Thursday night, while striking out 13 in the process.

Clemson attempted a late-inning rally after a Marissa Guimbarda one-out single. Aby Viera spoiled many drop pitches, but Maxwell struck her out on an 0-2 rise ball. She then finished off Alia Logoleo, as she struck out the side in the top of the seventh and recorded her 13th and final strikeout of the game.

Millie Thomspon, who had only allowed one hit in the NCAA tournament coming into Thuesday’s matchup was, unfortunately, outdueled by Maxwell. Thompson allowed two runs on seevn hits, while striking out and walking two apiece.

Clemson didn’t record its first hit until the top of the fourth inning when Valrie Cagle roped a leadoff single into right field. After Marissa Guimbarda struck out, Carlee Shannon, who pinch ran for Cagle, was called for interference.

Aby Viera grounded out to Karli Petty, who stepped on second base and spiked the relay throw to first. Not only did Shannon leave early, but she also interfered with Petty’s ability to turn the double play.

Speaking with the ESPN2 broadcast, Clemson coach John Rittman explained that the ruling was by the book, although he was noticeably displeased when the umpire did provide an explanation.

Howard answered with a five-pitch inning.

The wheels started to fall off for Thompson an inning later, as the Cowgirls made some necassray adjustments at the plate.

Oklahoma State senior catcher, Taylor Tuck, led off the inning with a double. After a sacrifice bunt and a one-out walk, senior outfielder Chyenne Factor delivered a two-run single to give her team a 2-0 lead.

Thompson was able to escape trouble after loading the bases, but the damage was done.

Oklahoma State is now 34-3 this season when it scores first.

Clemson will look to even the series against the Cowgirls tomorrow night at 9 p.m. with Cagle in the circle. Oklahoma State is one win away from making a short trip down the road to the College World Series.

Tigers enjoying every moment ahead of first-ever super regional

Clemson softball has reached a monumental milestone in the history of its program, advancing to the Super Regionals of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. With game one against No. 7-seed Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla. …

Clemson softball has reached a monumental milestone in the history of its program, advancing to the Super Regionals of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. With game one against No. 7-seed Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla. slated for Thursday, May 26, the Tigers have a lot to look forward to as first pitch looms closer.

“Definitely really excited to be apart of Super Regionals, especially here in Stillwater,” head coach John Rittman said on Wednesday. “Very proud of our team and the effort that it’s taken to get this far in the NCAA tournament. We’ve had a great year; we’ve played a really tough schedule to prepare us for this moment and looking forward to a great series against a great Oklahoma State team.”

For a team that is in just its second full season, Clemson’s softball program has already seen a high level of success, highlighted by an ACC regular season championship in 2021, reaching the NCAA regionals two years in a row, hosting the first NCAA regional at McWhorter Stadium, two 40-win seasons, and now reaching the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time ever – something head coach John Rittman couldn’t have dreamed up any other way.

“There are times when we have to pinch ourselves and make sure this is really happening,” Rittman said. “Certainly no one could predict success as quick as we’ve had it, but we’ve worked really hard, we have a great group of players, a great culture, and a lot of credit goes to our team. They’ve just really worked hard and believed. We’re here and excited about it.”

For junior Alia Logoleo, the opportunity to play in games like these is exactly what drew her to Clemson in the first place. And while she didn’t think their success would come so quick, Logoleo is thankful that she chose to become a Tiger just three short years ago.

“This is what I came to college to do,” Logoleo said. “I was recruited by coach Rittman, and I trusted him to build this program and make it what it is today. I didn’t think it would be this fast, but this is definitely what I came here for, these are the games I wanted to play.”

With another first on the line in what could be the program’s first Women’s College World Series berth, Rittman is confident that his team will continue to compete and be successful at the highest level when it matters most.

“We’ve watched Oklahoma State, obviously a lot of exposure in our sport, so we’ve been able to watch on TV and certainly paid close attention to their series with Florida State because we were scouting Florida State at the time,” Rittman said. “They are a well-coached team, great pitching depth, play outstanding defense, and they hit the ball well. I think they’re a lot like us where offensively they struggled a little bit at times during the year, but they’re peaking at the right time.”

The tenth-seeded Tigers (42-15) look to keep their postseason journey alive as they take on the Oklahoma State Cowgirls (44-12) in game one of the three-game series on Thursday, May 26, at Cowgirl Stadium. First pitch is set for 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

More strong pitching helps Clemson reach ‘another stepping stone in our growth’

Clemson’s softball team has had one of the strongest pitching staffs in the ACC throughout the season, but the Tigers took it to another level during the Clemson Regional. Now they’re just two wins away from their first-ever Women’s College Series …

Clemson’s softball team has had one of the strongest pitching staffs in the ACC throughout the season, but the Tigers took it to another level during the Clemson Regional.

Now they’re just two wins away from their first-ever Women’s College Series appearance.

“Another stepping stone in our growth,” Clemson coach John Rittman said following the Tigers’ regional-clinching victory over Louisiana on Sunday.

Clemson (42-15) won different ways to accomplish the feat, combining to score 18 runs in its three regional games. But as has been the case for most of the season, the Tigers’ work in the circle was the constant.

This time, it was nearly flawless.

Clemson, which leads the ACC with a sub-1.8 earned run average, won those three games by an average of six runs because the Tigers didn’t allow one all weekend. It’s the first time all season Clemson has pitched three consecutive shutouts.

“You’re going to win when you give up zero runs,” said Rittman, who couldn’t help but chuckle at the obvious.

The Tigers started it with a run-rule victory against UNC Wilmington and ended it the same way against Louisiana. Sophomore left-hander Millie Thompson went the distance in both, hurling a no-hitter against Wilmington. Only a hit batter kept Thompson from notching a perfect game.

After the Tigers edged Auburn in Saturday’s winner’s bracket, Rittman had a choice to make Sunday: Stick with right-hander Valerie Cagle (16-8, 1.96 ERA) or go back to Thompson (14-3, 1.61), who was rested after watching Saturday’s win from the dugout. 

Rittman said he went with Thompson in part because she was the fresher of the two but also because of how aggressive Louisiana’s offense was. Rittman and Thompson both believed her changeup would work well against that, an intuition that proved to be right as Thompson yielded just one hit and struck out five in the Tigers’ 8-0 win.

“I felt like they were trying to hit home runs and see how far the ball could go, and that’s who I love to pitch against,” Thompson said. “I felt really comfortable (Sunday) with my changeup, going away and seeing if they would pull. And it worked out.”

Thompson was rested because of the work Cagle did Saturday in what was easily Clemson’s stiffest test of the weekend. Auburn countered with an ace of its own in All-SEC right-hander Maddie Penta, who silenced the Tigers’ bats to the tune of three hits and six strikeouts in six innings. Clemson was hitless until a two-out double in the fourth from Cagle, who scored on Marissa Guimbarda’s bloop single. 

But Cagle hurled a four-hit shutout to notch the victory, doing some of her best work late with Auburn threatening. She wiggled out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the sixth and finished with six punchouts.

“That’s a situation I’ve been in a lot,” Cagle said. “So it’s just kind of remembering I’ve gotten out of those situations before and just not really trying to make the moment bigger than it is.”

For the weekend, Clemson allowed five hits and issued just one walk while recording 15 strikeouts in 17 innings. Rittman said there’s plenty of credit to go around for what continues to be an elite season in the circle for the Tigers, who will start super regional play at Oklahoma State on Thursday.

“I think (assistant) coach (Kyle) Jamieson deserves a lot of credit. He calls a great game and works his but off with our pitchers,” Rittman said. “I’m so proud of our pitching staff. We’ve seen so much growth over the last two years with our pitching staff. Sometimes they make it look real easy, but it’s a lot of work.”

Twitter reacts: Clemson shuts out Louisiana, advances to super regionals

Clemson softball is headed to super regionals for the first time in program history, and here’s how Twitter reacted to the news.

Clemson softball is headed to super regionals for the first time in program history following an 8-0 shutout against Louisiana at McWhorter Stadium on Sunday

After getting out to an early 1-0 lead, Clemson’s bats came alive in the fourth inning. Highlighted by Valerie Cagle’s three-RBI homer, the Tigers scored seven runs in the fourth off six hits and two home runs, ultimately making a Louisiana comeback insurmountable and ending the game in five.

Batting first in the order, Clemson second baseman Cammy Pereira finished the game 3-for-3 at the plate. Meanwhile, Millie Thompson delivered another impressive performance in the circle, throwing a five-inning shutout with five strikeouts while allowing just one hit.

“There’s just so much to be proud of,” said head coach John Rittman. “To win a regional championship in our third year of existence is just mind-blowing. It’s just a credit to our administration, President Clements, our athletic director Graham Neff, everybody who’s been involved in our program.”

In Clemson’s three games in regionals, the Tigers didn’t allow a single run, outscoring their opponents 18-0.

With the victory, Clemson will either travel to No. 7 seed Oklahoma State or host North Texas in super regionals.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Clemson softball making history.