Coming off an emotional win on Sunday against No.5 Washington, the Lady Tigers moved into the top 10 of the rankings for the first time in program history. They had one more stop to make on the road at Charlotte on Wednesday before setting their sights on this weekend's home opener.
With such a young program, it would be easy to expect this to be a trap game. It took the Tigers 4 innings before their bats got going in what was a pitchers' duel up to that point.
It wasn't Valerie Cagle but sophomore Millie Thompson who got the start in the circle for the Tigers. She pitched 6 scoreless innings on Saturday before the Tigers let the Wisconsin game get away in extra innings. This game was similar early, as both the Tigers and 49ers were scoreless in the first 3 innings before the bats came to life.
Cagle led off the 4th with a single, and Guimbarda put the Tigers on the board with a 2-run bomb, followed by 3 doubles by Pereira, Logoleo and May, giving them a comfortable 4-0 lead. Guimbarda had the big homer in the Tigers' 4-3 extra-inning win over No.15 Tennessee last Friday as well.
The Niners bounced back with a 2-out rally in the bottom of the 4th with a single by Weircoch, a walk by Wagner and a double by Crazier to make it 4-2. John Rittman brought McCubbin in from the pen, and she was able to close the inning. Cagle would come in to pitch the last 2 innings and get her first save of the season. The Tigers added another insurance run in the 6th when Guimbarda was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and they won 5-2. Cagle and Pereira were each 3-4 at the plate, and Guimbarda was 2-3 with the game's only HR and 3 RBI's.
The Lady Tigers now can turn their attention to the friendly confines of McWhorter Stadium for the first time this season when they host the Clemson Classic, welcoming Boston, Saint Francis (PA) and Akron. There were some changes to the schedule (see below) due to weather, and the Tigers will now play a doubleheader on Friday, beginning with Boston at 3:00. Click the link below for more!
Date | Time | Away | Home |
Friday, Feb. 25 | 10 a.m. | Akron | St. Francis |
Friday, Feb. 25 | 12:30 p.m. | Boston | Akron |
Friday, Feb. 25 | 3 p.m. | Boston | Clemson |
Friday, Feb. 25 | 5 p.m. | St. Francis | Clemson |
Saturday, Feb. 26 | 10 a.m. | St. Francis | Boston |
Saturday, Feb. 26 | 12:30 p.m. | Akron | Clemson |
Saturday, Feb. 26 | 3:30 p.m. | TBA (Seed 4) | TBA (Seed 3) |
Saturday, Feb. 26 | 6 p.m. | TBA (Seed 2) | TBA (Seed 2) |
All Clemson contests will still be available to watch on ACCNX.
For complete coverage of the Clemson Softball team, follow @ClemsonSoftball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. In addition, on Feb. 15 Clemson and IPTAY launched Clemson+, a streaming service feature exclusive Clemson content. Information on how to become an IPTAY member and gain access to the subscription is available here.
Tickets for Friday’s originally scheduled single game against Boston U are valid for Friday’s doubleheader. Fans who received tickets for Saturday’s originally scheduled doubleheader can use their ticket for Clemson’s Saturday afternoon game against Akron. Fans will be asked to leave the stadium following the morning games. Single-game tickets purchased for Sunday’s the consolation and championship games are now eligible for Saturday’s games at 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Never miss the latest news from CUTigers!
Join our free email list