Football
NO.16 CLEMSON CURB STOMPS UNCG 17-2 IN 5 INNINGS TO OPEN NCAA REGIONAL
- 2023-05-21 08:56:47
0
CLEMSON, SC - The offense is back! After 12 days off, the Tigers couldn't buy a hit in the ACC Tournament, scoring just 2 runs in 2 games against UNC and Duke. However, they found their offense in the week interim, scoring early and often against UNCG on Friday to open the NCAA Regional. The Tigers scored 7 runs in the 1st inning, more than they scored in either game against UNCG during the regular season!
Clark opened the 1st with a leadoff single, and Jacobsen started the fireworks with a 3-run HR after they intentionally walked Cagle with Clark on 1st and just one out! You won't see that happen often in a scoreless game in the 1st, but that shows you the kind of respect everyone has for Cagle! In fact, they would walk her two more times, including another intentional walk in the exact same situation! Logoleo followed Jacobsen's homer with one of her own to make it 4-0. Catcher Aby Vieira made her return from a month-long forearm injury and walked on 4 pitches. Hyatt followed that with a double, and Davenport hit a 3-run bomb, the Tigers' 3rd homer of the inning, to make it 7-0 just like that! Not bad for the No.9 hitter. Clark singled for a second time in the inning before the Tigers were retired.
UNCG answered with a 2-out single off Thompson to make it 7-1, but the Tigers didn't let up. Vieira hit a 2-run single to make it 9-1 in the bottom of the 2nd. Perhaps her return was the good luck charm for the Tigers' bats. It was just after she went down in Columbia against the Gamecocks when things started to unravel for the Tigers.
Jacobsen drove in 2-more runs in the 3rd after they, once again, intentionally walked Cagle with a runner on and just one out. It backfired on them both times! Moore added a 2-run HR, the Tigers' 4th of the game, to make it 13-1, but they wouldn't stop there. Rittman cleared his bench, but the Tigers kept hitting. Oda, making her return after missing the ACC Tournament, drew a walk, and Aby Stuart hit a pinch-hit single. They finally learned their lesson and decided to pitch to Cagle after 3 walks, and she hit an RBI single to make it 14-1! Jacobsen posted her 3rd hit of the game, coming up just a triple short of the cycle, to load the bases, and Logoleo walked in a run. Moore singled to score 2 more to make it 17-1. McCubbin came in to pitch in the 4th inning and gave up a run on a throwing error with 2 outs in the 5th, but she got a strike out to end the game by run rule.
That's the way to open an NCAA Tournament! Let's hope the Tigers saved some runs for Saturday, though, because they will likely face Auburn and SEC Pitcher of the Year Maddie Penta in a rematch of last year's regional game, won 1-0 by the home Tigers.
Post-game interviews are below!
Never miss the latest news from CUTigers!
Join our free email list