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Clemson kept the winning streak alive Saturday as they won two and took home the title for the Clemson Classic. Check out some great pictures of Clemson softball from Saturday’s play in Bart Boatwright’s Photo Gallery.
Clemson kept the winning streak alive Saturday as they won two and took home the title for the Clemson Classic.
Check out some great pictures of Clemson softball from Saturday’s play in Bart Boatwright’s Photo Gallery.
Prior to this evening’s Championship Game against Boston University, Clemson softball took care of business against Akron at McWhorter Stadium in the third game of the Clemson Classic. Led by McKenzie Clark’s four-hit day, Clemson (10-3) hung onto a …
Prior to this evening’s Championship Game against Boston University, Clemson softball took care of business against Akron at McWhorter Stadium in the third game of the Clemson Classic.
Led by McKenzie Clark’s four-hit day, Clemson (10-3) hung onto a 10-5 victory over Akron. The Tigers, who were once up 6-0, had the Zips on the rope early, but a fifth-inning rally kept the game within reach for Akron.
Clemson jumped out to an early 5-0 lead thanks to Aby Vieira’s first career home run. After the Tigers loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half of the first, the true freshman catcher out of Mission Viejo (Calif.) unloaded on a 1-1 pitch for a grand slam to right-center field.
In the following inning, McKenzie Clark (4-4) made history. For her second hit of the day, the Tigers’ center fielder recorded the first inside-the-park home run in program history.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though. The Zips eventually clawed back after starter Brooke McCubbin (2-1) was pulled following four scoreless innings. The right-hander out of Locust Grove (Ga.) allowed just three hits and struck out two, improving her earned run average to 1.13 on the year.
Rachel Gibson came in relief of McCubbin in the top of the fifth inning and was taken out of the contest before she could record an out. Clemson manager John Rittman came to get Gibson when it was 6-2.
By the time the inning was over, Akron had cut the deficit to just one run. In her short relief stint — Gibson was charged with four runs (three earned) —that was after Emma Whitfield gave up a two-run triple to Akron outfielder Angela Cirone.
Valerie Cagle, who pitched five scoreless innings and earned the win in the opening game of the classic, came in relief for the Tigers in the top of the sixth inning. Cagle (5-2) came in and gave the Tigers a couple of much-needed clean innings, striking out three batters in the process.
After Cagle settled things down, the Tigers tacked on four more runs to take a 10-5 advantage. She pitched two scoreless innings and earned the save, giving Clemson some momentum before tonight’s championship game against Boston.
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A near capacity crowd turned out for Clemson softball’s home opener Saturday, and the Tigers gave their fans plenty to cheer about. Clemson walked off with a mercy-rule victory over Boston at McWhorter Stadium in its first game of the Clemson …
A near capacity crowd turned out for Clemson softball’s home opener Saturday, and the Tigers gave their fans plenty to cheer about.
Clemson walked off with a mercy-rule victory over Boston at McWhorter Stadium in its first game of the Clemson Classic. Alia Logoleo’s two-run home run capped a six-run fifth inning for the Tigers to end the game, 8-0.
Led by Cammy Pereira’s three-hit day, Clemson (8-3) pounded out 12 hits against Boston’s Allison Boaz (2-3). Logoleo and Aby Vieira each had two hits for the Tigers, who won their third straight game. Clemson will take on Saint Francis in its second game of the day at 5 p.m.
This story will be updated.
Valerie Cagle did it all in Clemson’s best win of the young softball season. Cagle hurled a complete-game shutout and helped herself with a solo home run late in the 12th-ranked Tigers’ 2-0 win over No. 5 Washington on Sunday at the Clearwater Elite …
Valerie Cagle did it all in Clemson’s best win of the young softball season.
Cagle hurled a complete-game shutout and helped herself with a solo home run late in the 12th-ranked Tigers’ 2-0 win over No. 5 Washington on Sunday at the Clearwater Elite Invitational in Clearwater, Florida. Cagle allowed just five hits and struck out 10 in helping Clemson (6-3) hand the Huskies (9-1) their first loss of the season.
It was also the first win ever over a top-10 opponent for Clemson, which is going through just its third season as a program.
This story will be updated.
The Clemson softball team (5-3) dropped two games on the third day of competition at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. The Tigers opened the day with a loss to No. RV/23 Northwestern in seven innings before dropping the …
The Clemson softball team (5-3) dropped two games on the third day of competition at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. The Tigers opened the day with a loss to No. RV/23 Northwestern in seven innings before dropping the night cap to Wisconsin in extras.
Game 1 vs. No. RV/23 Northwestern
The Tigers dropped the morning game to No. RV/23 Northwestern, 7-0, after committing some costly errors on the defensive side.
The game started with both team’s trading outs in the first and second innings. The Wildcats scored first in the top of the third after a fielding error by Clemson. The Tigers attempted to respond in the bottom of the inning after getting McKenzie Clark and Sam Russ aboard with two outs, but Russ was ruled out after leaving the base early on the next pitch.
Northwestern scored again in the fifth off a two-run homer. NU tacked on their final three runs in the sixth after Clemson made back-to-back errors that allowed runners to score.
The Tigers made one final push in the bottom of the sixth after getting two runners on with two outs, but a ground ball hit to Northwestern’s third baseman was fielded cleanly to end the inning.
Freshman Brooke McCubbin started in the circle for the Tigers. She pitched 5.1 innings and faced 29 batters as she fell to 1-1 on the year. Sophomore Regan Spencer pitched the final 1.2 innings. She faced six batters and struck out three without giving up a hit.
Game 2 vs. Wisconsin
The second game of the day began as a pitcher’s duel as the two teams traded outs until the Tigers got on the board first in the bottom of the fourth inning.
In the fourth, Madison May singled up the middle. The Tigers brought in pinch runner, Carlee Shannon, in May’s place and Shannon quickly stole second. Shannon advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error by the catcher to give Clemson the 1-0 lead.
Sophomore pitcher Millie Thompson put in six innings of work in the circle for the Tigers amassing a season-high nine strikeouts, one shy from tying her career-best. She faced 24 batters, and Clemson’s defense made some incredible plays behind her to keep the Badgers from scoring in those first six innings.
Going into the seventh inning, Clemson made a pitching change to Valerie Cagle. After batters got on base early, Wisconsin went on to tie the game, 1-1, in the top of the seventh inning when Peyton Bannon scored on a wild pitch.
Wisconsin scored what would be the game-winning run in the top of the eighth inning when the international tie-breaker rule placed Molly Schlosser on second base with Kayla Konwent at the plate. A single up the middle by Konwent scored Schlosser to give the Badgers the 2-1 lead over the Tigers.
Up Next
Clemson concludes action at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational tomorrow morning against No. 6/5 Washington at 9:30 a.m.
Redshirt sophomore JoJo Hyatt came up with a bases-loaded triple to walk-off Texas Tech in five innings. The Tigers scored five runs in the first inning before Hyatt brought in three in the fifth as Clemson defeated the Red Raiders 8-0 in the …
Redshirt sophomore JoJo Hyatt came up with a bases-loaded triple to walk-off Texas Tech in five innings. The Tigers scored five runs in the first inning before Hyatt brought in three in the fifth as Clemson defeated the Red Raiders 8-0 in the Tiger’s opening game at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational.
Following the victory, Clemson moves to 4-1 on the year, as Texas Tech drops to 3-3. Also following today’s win, the Tigers have outscored opponents 35-4 this season.
Clemson jumped out to an early lead in the first inning as Sam Russ and McKenzie Clark got on base with a triple and walk, respectively. Valerie Cagle reached on an error that scored Russ, and two batters later, Alia Logoleo would reach on another Red Raider error to score Clark and Cagle.
Momentum continued to swing in Clemson’s favor as Cammy Pereira took her base after getting hit by a pitch. Both Logoleo and Pereira advanced to second and third to be in scoring position for Madison May bring them home after ripping a double into right center. After the first inning, the Tigers held a 5-0 lead.
Things slowed for the next three innings offensively, but Clemson’s defense kept up the pressure. In the circle, Cagle pitched 4.0 innings with eight strikeouts. Cagle moves to 2-1 on the year after keeping TTU off the board. She was replaced in the top of the fifth by freshman Brooke McCubbin, who pitched one inning and only had to face three batters before the inning concluded.
Clemson dominated the fifth inning that began with Marissa Guimbarda drawing a walk. A few batters later, Pereira and May were also both walked to load the bases for Hyatt with two outs. With a 1-0 count, Hyatt got ahold of the next pitch and sent it deep into right field to conclude the walk-off run-rule victory, Clemson’s fourth run-rule win of the season.
Up Next:
The Tigers are back in action tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. against No. 18/15 Tennessee to continue play at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational.
The No. 15/14 Clemson softball team split action on the second day of the FGCU Kickoff Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. The Tigers threw a five-inning combined no-hitter against Kent State to win the first game of the day, 8-0, but dropped the evening …
The No. 15/14 Clemson softball team split action on the second day of the FGCU Kickoff Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. The Tigers threw a five-inning combined no-hitter against Kent State to win the first game of the day, 8-0, but dropped the evening matchup, 4-0, to No. 10/8 Texas.
With today’s action, Clemson moves to 2-1 on the season. Kent State drops to 1-1 on the year, and Texas moves to 1-0 after the Clemson game was the Longhorns’ season opener.
Game 1 vs. Kent State
Sophomores Regan Spencer and Millie Thompson etched their names into Clemson’s record book in the opening game of the day, becoming the first duo to combine for a no-hitter in program history. Through five innings of work, the two faced a combined 17 batters and struck out five to keep the Golden Flashes off the board.
Spencer started and earned her first win in the circle pitching 3.0 innings with four strikeouts. Thompson came in at relief in the top of the fourth inning to pitch the final two frames with one strikeout of her own.
Offensively, the Tigers stayed hot with Alia Logoleo, Cammy Pereira and McKenzie Clark each going 2-for-3. Logoleo and Pereira each brought in four RBIs, as Logoleo and Marissa Guimbarda scored two runs apiece.
Clemson jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first with graduate transfer Sam Russ leading off with a triple. Guimbarda drew a walk to put two runners on for Logoleo to record her first home run of the 2022 season over the right-center fence.
The Tigers scored again in the third inning following sophomore McKenzie Clark singling to start the inning and then stealing second. Guimbarda drew her second walk of the day and was replaced by Arielle Oda as a pinch runner to put two runners on when Logoleo hit an RBI double down the left line. The double scored Clark and brought Oda around to third. Pereira came up with a clutch single up the middle to plate both Oda and Logoleo, giving Clemson a 6-0 lead.
Clemson closed out the game in walk-off fashion in the fifth inning as redshirt sophomore Valerie Cagle singled, and Guimbarda reached on an error to put two runners on. Pereira walked it off with a double to left field to plate the final two runs against Kent State.
Game 2 vs. No. 10/8 Texas
The No. 15/14 Clemson softball team plated 11 runs en route to a five-inning shutout victory against Florida Gulf Coast at the FGCU Softball Complex on Thursday evening. With the victory, the Tigers open their 2022 slate 1-0, as FGCU moves to 1-1 on …
Graduate Cammy Pereira (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and redshirt sophomore Valerie Cagle (Yorktown, Va.) both went yard in the Tiger’s opener to help clinch the win. Pereira hit a solo bomb in her first at bat of the 2022 season to leadoff the second inning. Cagle’s three-run homer over the right-field fence happened in the top of the fifth to extend an already run-filled inning.
“It was a great win tonight to start the season,” said head coach John Rittman. “Our team did an awesome job coming out and being ready to play tonight. Valerie was phenomenal for us in the circle, and Cammy had the first big hit with the home run in the second inning to give us a cushion. We competed very well up and down our lineup tonight at the plate. You never know what you’re going to get in the first game of the year, but I’m really impressed with our effort tonight. Coming out with a victory to start the season is always nice.”
Cagle led the Tigers from the plate going 3-for-4 with a single, double and home run. She brought in six RBIs and scored one run of her own. The redshirt sophomore also dominated the circle, pitching 4.0 innings with seven strikeouts to earn her first victory of 2022.
Following Cagle at the plate was sophomore McKenzie Clark (Myakka City, Fla.), who finished 2-for-3 with four runs scored and two RBIs. Marissa Guimbarda (Suwanee, Ga.), Alia Logoleo (Nashville, Tenn.) and Pereira rounded out Clemson’s 11 RBIs on the night. Besides Clark, graduate transfer Sam Russ was the only Tiger to cross home multiple times, scoring two runs in her first appearance in the Orange and Regalia.
Freshman Brooke McCubbin (Locust Grove, Ga.) made her first appearance as a Tiger in the fifth inning as a pinch hitter and drew a walk. She then entered the circle and picked up her first strikeout to cap the Tiger’s victory.
Up Next:
Clemson continues opening weekend action Friday, Feb. 11 with a doubleheader beginning at 2:30 p.m. against Kent State. The Tigers follow that with a top-15 matchup when No. 15/14 Clemson takes on No. 10/8 Texas at 5 p.m.
The Clemson Insider is excited to announce a NIL (name, image and likeness) endorsement deal with Valerie Cagle. The Clemson softball star has signed an advertising agreement with TCI. “I couldn’t be happier to have Valerie signed as our fourth NIL …
The Clemson Insider is excited to announce a NIL (name, image and likeness) endorsement deal with Valerie Cagle.
The Clemson softball star has signed an advertising agreement with TCI.
“I couldn’t be happier to have Valerie signed as our fourth NIL deal. She is a great young lady that comes from a great family,” TCI Publisher Robert MacRae said. “She is a big reason Clemson’s softball program has been amazing in the first two years of the program, and she is one of the top players in the nation. I look forward to having Valerie help us promote The Clemson Insider.”
Cagle is entering his sophomore season as one of the top players in the nation. The ACC’s Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year last season, Cagle was selected as a preseason All-American by D1Softball.
The Tigers’ two-way standout led the ACC with a 1.16 earned run average in 32 starts in the circle. Cagle finished second in the league in wins (28), innings (216 1/3) and strikeouts (267). At the dish, she led the Tigers with a .404 batting average and swatted an ACC-best 17 home runs.
Cagle also led Clemson in hits (63), RBIs (45) and slugging percentage (.821) as part of a season that saw the Tigers win the ACC regular-season championship and play in their first-ever NCAA Tournament in just their second year as a program.
She was one of 10 finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. Cagle was also selected to compete for the USA under-18 Junior Women’s National Team late last year.
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John Rittman’s vision of turning Clemson into one of the premier softball programs in the country is moving at warp speed. In just two seasons of existence, Clemson has won 63 games under its head coach’s guidance, which included a …
John Rittman’s vision of turning Clemson into one of the premier softball programs in the country is moving at warp speed.
In just two seasons of existence, Clemson has won 63 games under its head coach’s guidance, which included a coronavirus-shortened season of 27 games in 2020, the Tigers’ first as a program. Last season, the Tigers got their biggest taste of success.
Clemson won the ACC regular-season title and came up a win shy of also capturing the conference tournament championship. The Tigers made their first-ever NCAA Tournament before seeing their historic season end in the Tuscaloosa Regional.
Clemson’s next chance to build on what it’s done during the infancy stage of its program is looming. The Tigers will begin the 2022 season Thursday against Florida Gulf Coast in the FGCU Kickoff Classic in Fort Myers, Florida.
And, for the first time, they’ll do so with some real expectations. With preseason All-American Valerie Cagle and preseason all-ACC outfielder McKenzie Clark leading the way, Clemson came in at No. 14 in the D1Softball preseason top 25, a five-spot jump from where the Tigers ended last season in the same rankings.
Clemson was also picked to finish second in the ACC in the coaches preseason poll behind Florida State, last season’s Women’s College World Series runner-up.
“Last year, we kind of snuck up on some people,” Rittman said. “This year, we’re probably going to have a target on our back. That’s something we’re going to have to learn to deal with as the season goes on. But I’m very impressed with our leadership, the way we’re handling ourselves in practice and preparing for this year.”
Cagle is back for her sophomore season as one of the top two-way players in the country. The ACC’s reigning Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year led Clemson with a .404 batting average and hit 17 home runs. In the circle, she posted an ACC-best 1.16 earned run average and finished second in the league in wins (28) and strikeouts (267).
While Cagle will once again be Clemson’s ace after throwing the second-most innings in the ACC last season, she’s not the only experienced arm on the roster. Fellow sophomores Regan Spencer, Emma Whitfield and Millie Thompson are also back after being part of a staff that posted a 1.50 ERA.
Spencer and Thompson combined to go 15-1 in more than 120 innings last season. Rittman said there are some freshmen who are also making a case to get the ball at times this season.
“We’ve got some depth in the circle, and that’s going to bode well for us for this long year and getting ready for a tough conference schedule,” Rittman said.
Clemson is also returning a number of other significant contributors from a season ago, including outfielder Marissa Guimbarda, shortstop Ansley Gilstrap, second baseman Cammy Pereira and catcher JoJo Hyatt. Clark hit .355 last season while Guimbarda posted a .309 average. The duo combined to hit 22 homers for a team that went yard 66 times.
The Tigers, who will start ACC play with a home series against Virginia Tech beginning March 4, might be able to mix in a little more finesse with that power this season with the addition of N.C. State transfer outfielder Sam Russ, the Wolfpack’s all-time stolen bases leader (103).
“We have some speed,” Rittman said. “We can take some extra bases and put a lot of pressure on the defense.”
Cagle said she’s interested to see how the newcomers mix with the holdovers as the season unfolds. But with so much talent and experience back from last season, the Tigers have their own high standard.
Rittman and some of his players said it’s time for the Tigers to leave what happened last season in the past.
“All the stuff we did last year was great. It was awesome,” Cagle said. “All the preseason honors we’ve gotten is good recognition, but that stuff, it’s preseason and it doesn’t matter.
“We have high expectations. Higher than anyone’s going to put on us. So just focusing more internal on our own expectations.”
It’s not something Clemson is shying away from now that it’s gone from the hunter to one of the ACC’s hunted.
“We know that we can’t sneak up on anyone anymore, but knowing that we can’t do that and knowing we can possibly be the bigger dog is extremely exciting,” Clark said.
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