No. 5 Tigers continue season, rivalry dominance in run-rule victory over Gamecocks |
CLEMSON - No. 5 Clemson softball equaled a program-best winning streak, extended its lengthy home victory run and stayed unbeaten all-time against the rival South Carolina Gamecocks in emphatic fashion with a 10-0 run-rule win over five innings on Tuesday evening.
The Tigers (33-1) pushed the overall winning streak to 19 games and the McWhorter Stadium success to 28 consecutive victories. John Rittman’s squad also moved to 4-0 all-time against South Carolina (24-8) to take game one of a two-game season series (game two is in Columbia on April 11). "I think the biggest thing is staying within ourselves and knowing that each game is different. This team has a lot of leadership and a lot of experience now going into these big rivalry games," Rittman said. "South Carolina's a good team. I know the score didn't indicate it but they're a really good team this year...I think it speaks a lot about our team. We have definitely got up for this game in the last couple of years and played very well." Clemson struck first with two runs in the first inning. Tigers leadoff hitter McKenzie Clark reached by single and Clemson two-way standout Valerie Cagle’s RBI single got the Tigers on the board. Clemson shortstop Alia Logoleo got in on the action with an RBI single to bring Cagle across the plate. South Carolina head coach Beverly Smith wasn’t long for the rivalry action after disputing an illegal pitch call, getting tossed in the second inning. In Clemson's third, Cagle lined a 2-0 offering to extend the edge with a solo shot. It was Cagle’s 12th home run of the season and her fourth consecutive game with a home run. Anchoring a staff leading the nation in ERA, Cagle (16-1), fresh off of earning national player of the week honors, largely commanded the action from the circle. Cagle tallied five strikeouts and allowed a lone hit over five innings. She has given up just four hits total over her last three starts. "She just pitched a tremendous game. Kept them off-balance all night," Rittman said. Cagle picked up plenty of insurance runs in the fourth inning to help end things early. The first four came via error, a Reedy Davenport RBI single up the middle, a bases-loaded walk and a Caroline Jacobsen sac fly, but Logoleo put an exclamation mark on things with a towering three-run homer to left field for a seven-run half-inning in all. That home run was Logoleo’s sixth of the season. "It's just fun to have a new sport here at Clemson and whenever we do play our rival, it gets so packed here and it's so fun," Logoleo said. Senior Gamecocks starter Donnie Gobourne (5-1) took her first defeat of the season, giving up three runs on four hits over three innings. It was a 13th run-rule win and a 15th shutout this season for Clemson. Clemson heads to Boston College next for a three-game series that starts at 6 p.m. on Friday. T3 | We are pretty sure you will see this later @NCAASoftball x @SportsCenter x #SCTop10 B3 | Back-to-BAck-to-BACk-to-BACK
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4 consecutive games with a home run for Valerie
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B4 | Logoleo bat flips are so back
— Clemson Softball (@clemsonsoftball) March 28, 2023
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