Hits were hard to come by versus Duke on Sunday. (Photo per Clemson softball Twitter)

by CU Athletic Communications - Sun Mar 20 18:03:52 GMT-04:00 2022

DURHAM, N.C. - Graduate transfer Sam Russ hit her second home run of the season out of center field in the seventh inning, but it wasn’t enough as the No. 17/15 Clemson softball team (19-8, 1-5 ACC) dropped the rubber match to No. 13/5 Duke, 7-1, on Sunday afternoon.

Russ got a hold of the first pitch of her at bat in the seventh inning and drove it out of center field to get the Tigers on the board and prevent the shutout. Sophomore McKenzie Clark and redshirt sophomore Alia Logoleo were the other Tigers to tally a hit in the game.

The Blue Devils capitalized and scored five runs off four hits in the second inning to get the lead. They added their final two runs in the sixth inning off a two-run home run.

Freshman Brooke McCubbin started in the circle and faced nine batters with one strikeout as she fell to 4-2 on the year. McCubbin was replaced by sophomore Regan Spencer in the second inning. Spencer pitched 3.1 innings, facing 16 batters with two strikeouts before being replaced by Millie Thompson. Thompson pitched the final 1.2 frames and finished with two strikeouts for the Tigers.

Up Next

Clemson will continue its road stretch in a midweek matchup in Athens against Georgia on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network.

After three, Clemson trails 5-0 to the Blue Devils

?????? ????: Keller, Russ and Logoleo pic.twitter.com/oarw9E5a5n
— Clemson Softball ?? (@clemsonsoftball) March 20, 2022

Clemson-Duke game three