Clemson Drops Close Battle to No. 3 Duke
CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 19/19 Clemson Tigers battled back but ultimately fell, 4-3, to No. 3/3 Duke on Saturday at McWhorter Stadium. The Tigers are now 28-13 (11-6 ACC), while the Blue Devils move to 36-4 (15-2 ACC).
Saturday’s game also marked senior day for 10 student-athletes and one manager, some of whom have been with the program for six years. Clemson honored Lindsey Garcia, Julia Bomhardt, McKenzie Clark, Grace Hiller, Alia Logoleo, Regan Spencer, JoJo Hyatt, Arielle Oda, Valerie Cagle, Millie Thompson and Olivia Turpin following the conclusion of the game.
In-game, Alex Brown tallied two hits to lead the Tigers. Clark finished with one hit, one walk, one RBI and one run scored. Oda and Maddie Moore were the two other Tigers to cross home, as Garcia and Logoleo rounded out the hits for Clemson.
Similar to Friday night, Duke opened scoring in the top of the third inning. With one out, the Blue Devils clocked three hits, including a home run to take a 3-0 advantage.
The Tigers answer in the bottom of the third with three of their own to even things at three-all. With one out, Arielle Oda and Maddie Moore drew back-to-back walks. McKenzie Clark notched an RBI single to right field to score Oda and move Moore to third. During Julia Knowler’s at bat, Moore would slide into home on a wild pitch. A single from Alia Logoleo through the left side scored Clark to make it 3-all after three.
The Blue Devils made a push to score again in the fourth, but both Moore at shortstop and Clark in center field made impressive catches at shortstop and in center field to end the inning and eliminate the threat in the fourth.
Duke was able to bring the leadoff runner in the sixth around to score after a sac bunt turned into an error by the Tigers’ defense to reclaim a 4-3 lead, which held for the remainder of the game.
Senior Millie Thompson appeared in her 19th game. She pitched all seven innings with four strikeouts but dropped the battle to fall to 5-5 on the year.
Up Next
The Tigers and Blue Devils conclude the three-game series tomorrow at 6 p.m. on ACC Network.
Tickets for the final two home games of the regular season are still available for purchase. Fans can grab theirs either online or by visiting the ticket table outside the main gate of McWhorter Stadium on the day of the game. For more information on how to manage your tickets, including transferring them if you aren’t able to make it, visit ClemsonTigers.com today.