After a 5-0 week at home, the Lady Tigers traveled to Durham for an ACC Championship rematch with No.5 Duke. It's the second straight series against a top-10 opponent to begin the Tigers' ACC schedule. The Tigers and Devils split their 4-game regular season series in Clemson last season, but the Devils won the big one 1-0 in the ACC Championship Game, which unfairly resulted in the Tigers being denied a host site for the NCAA regionals. So there is already some history and bad blood between these young programs, and both teams are probably even better than they were last season.
The home team got the better of Cagle and the Tigers in the opener on Friday, winning 6-2. The All-American's record in the circle fell to 7-5 on the season after a 28-7 record in 2021. McKenzie Clark had a great game at the plate, going 2-3 with her 2nd HR of the season and a double.
The Tigers got revenge on Saturday, however, blasting the Devils 10-2 in 5 innings. Sophomore Millie Thompson improved to 5-1 in the circle, striking out 8 with no walks. Her ERA this season is 1.50. It was the Tigers' first ACC win of the season and the Devils' first ACC loss of the season, just their 4th overall. It was also the largest margin of defeat for Duke this season.
Unfortunately, Duke won the rubber match in convincing fashion on Sunday 7-1. The lone bright spot was a seventh-inning HR by Russ, her 2nd of the season, to prevent the shutout. Freshman Brooke McCubbin's record fell to 4-2 in the circle.
The Tigers return to action with another tough road game against a ranked team on Wednesday, as they travel to Athens for the first time as a program to face No.17 UGA. It's the first-ever meeting in Athens, but the Tigers won their only meeting 4-1 in Clemson before the 2020 inaugural season was cut short.
Click the link below for live coverage of the UGA game and more!
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