No. 6 Seminoles sweep No. 4 Tigers

Clemson went 0-for-30 with runners on at the plate over the series. (Clemson athletics photo)

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Fri Apr 07 22:15:34 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - The No. 4/4 Clemson Tigers made a strong push but fell short to the No. 6/6 Florida State Seminoles on Friday evening.

The Tigers (37-4, 12-3 ACC) started out the game strong. Junior pitcher Valerie Cagle hit a single, which sent teammate McKenzie Clark home and Clemson took the 1-0 at the end of the first inning. This play also resulted in Florida State’s first error of the game. The Seminoles matched them, though, getting a run of their own from sophomore Michaela Edenfield in the top of the second. No runs were scored in the third inning.

Then, in a bizarre play in the bottom of the fourth, junior Alia Logoleo was up to bat, senior Caroline Jacobsen was already on first. Jacobsen had tried to steal a base and was returning to first base. Florida State’s catcher, Edenfield, attempted to throw the ball to senior Mack Leonard on first base. In what would be their second error of the game, the ball was overthrown, allowing Jacobsen to come home and give Clemson a 2-1 lead.

Clemson would maintain that lead until in the top of the fifth inning with bases loaded, Florida State (32-7, 11-1), on an out by sophomore infielder Amaya Ross, was able to get fellow sophomore infielder Katey Mudge home, tying up the game at 2-2. Now, with a runner on second and third, sophomore right fielder Hallie Wacaser stepped up to bat. While she got out, senior Josie Muffley was able to get home. But, Tigers catcher sophomore Aby Vieira was able to tag Seminoles sophomore Katie Dack and get her out to prevent another score. Still, Florida State took a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Tigers failed to score. The Seminoles were held scoreless in the sixth and seventh inning; however, Clemson did not score either. They had a chance in the bottom of the seventh inning to make a comeback and claim victory. However, the first two batters got out. This left the game in the hands of junior McKenzie Clark. She was able to get to first, but took the risk to try to get to second base. She was out at second and that is how the series ended for the Tigers. Coach John Rittman was proud of her effort though, who said he will never discourage “aggressive base running.”

Both teams struggled to get hits - the Seminoles had three and Clemson had two. The two hits the Tigers had both came from Clark. She has a .371 batting average, second only to Cagle who has a .479 batting average this season.

Because they played a doubleheader on Thursday, with Florida State winning both games, 7-0 in the first and 4-1 in the second, this is the final game of the series. Clemson will play South Carolina in Columbia on Tuesday before starting their series against NC State on April 14 in Raleigh.

Clemson-FSU box (game three)