Cagle dominant as No. 18 Tigers top Tar Heels in series opener |
Behind another complete game in the circle from redshirt freshman pitcher
Valerie Cagle, the No. 18 Clemson softball team took down North Carolina on Thursday afternoon inside of McWhorter Stadium, 4-1. It was the first matchup between the two programs and they will meet again Friday for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. (ACCNX).
Clemson moves to 23-4 and 15-4 in ACC play with the win. Cagle picked up her 14th win of the season, improving her overall record to 14-3. Cagle tossed all seven innings, striking out 12 and allowing one earned run on two hits. The 12 strikeouts marked the third time Cagle has reached double-digit strikeouts in a game, and the first since she had 14 against Louisville on March 21st. Red shirt freshman outfielder Alia Logoleo paced the Clemson offense at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two RBI and two doubles on the afternoon. The Tennessee native gave the Tigers some insurance runs in the fifth inning, crushing her fifth double of the season to the centerfield wall and drove in two runs to make it a 4-1 game. The three hits tied a career high set last season in Kissimmee, Florida against Morgan State. McKenzie Clark stayed hot at the plate as well for the Tigers, recording an RBI and a double after going 2-for-3. “Cagle is very professional at her craft,” Clemson head coach John Rittman said after the victory. “Logoleo had some clutch hits for us today as well and we’re going to fix these errors up. I don’t know what it is about these opening games of the series, but we definitely have to work on the defense and we’re lucky it didn’t bite us today.” Clemson committed three errors in the field Thursday and committed four last weekend against Duke in the series opener. The Tigers had their first scoring chance in the first inning, drawing a walk from Ansley Gilstrap and an infield single from Cagle to put two runners on with one out. Clemson was unable to take advantage of the early threat, failing to score after a strikeout and a groundout to the second baseman. Clemson took the lead in the following inning, loading the bases with two outs before Gilstrap drove in her 12th RBI of the season with a single up the middle. North Carolina answered with a scoring chance of its own in the third inning, putting a runner on third after an error and two passed balls. Cagle got herself out of the jam by retiring the next two batters in a row via the strikeout, her sixth and seventh of the game in just three innings. The Tar Heels tied the game up in the top of the 4th, singling through the right side of the infield with a runner on second to make it 1-1. Clemson answered North Carolina’s run with one of their own in the bottom half of the inning, retaking the lead 2-1. The rally began when Logoleo took the second pitch of her at-bat to left field for a double. She would advance to third the next batter, Grace Mattimore, who grounded out to the right side of the infield. With two outs, true freshman outfielder Clark hit her fifth double of the season and scored Logoleo from third. It was Clark’s 13th run driven in of the season, good for third-most on the Tigers. Logoleo helped the Clemson defense with some insurance runs in the fifth, recording her fifth double of the season on a two-RBI hit to the center field wall. The Tigers got back-to-back singles from Marissa Guimbarda and Abi Stuart to put the runners on base for the redshirt freshman outfielder who drove in her 11th and 12th runs of the season and increased the lead, 4-1. Cagle sent down the Tar Heels in order in the seventh to help Clemson take game one of the four-game series. McKenzie "??" Clark tallies her fifth double and 13th RBI of the season on an 11-pitch at-bat to give us a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth ?? LOGOLEO OFF THE WALL AGAIN??
?? ACCNX (https://t.co/KrmlPSYl8X) pic.twitter.com/sTILcYCBSF
She's 3-for-3 today, including two doubles and two RBIs ??
?? ACCNX (https://t.co/KrmlPSYl8X) pic.twitter.com/xwIetwGOEN
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
