Tigers' Defense Shines to Top Cavaliers Twice
CLEMSON, S.C. - The No. 4/4 Clemson Tigers put together two complete games at the plate, in the circle and in the field to take both games from Virginia on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers took the first game, 4-1, and carried the momentum into the second game for a 1-0 victory. After the wins, Clemson improves to 28-1 (5-0 ACC) while Virginia drops to 18-8 (1-3 ACC). The Tigers have extended their win streak at McWhorter Stadium to 26 games.
Game 1 - W, 4-1
The Clemson defense kicked off Saturday action on fire. After the first two hitters got on base, Reedy Davenport cleanly fielded a ball at third, stepped on the bag and completed the double play by making the throw to first base. This was followed in the second inning by Maddie Moore saving a hard hit ball to the left side by making a diving play to get the out at first base, and Ally Miklesh making a diving catch in left field in the top of the third.
The Tigers opened up scoring in the bottom of the third inning plating three runs. It began with Miklesh drawing a leadoff walk and advancing to third as Davenport got a hold of one to the right side. The Cavaliers picked up two quick outs, but that didn’t slow down the Tigers. Moore drew a walk, and in the next at bat, Valerie Cagle reached on a fielder’s choice that ruled Moore out at second. After review, Moore was ruled safe at second which meant Miklesh’s run from third got the Tigers on the board.
Caroline Jacobsen continued to provide a spark at the plate for Clemson, driving the 10th pitch of her at bat into the gap in right center for a two-RBI double making it 3-0. Virginia got one back in the top of the fourth inning with a sac fly to right field.
Clemson responded in the bottom of the fourth after loading the bases and having McKenzie Clark drop one into shallow left center between the shortstop and center fielder to make it 4-1, which would hold for the remainder of the game.
In the circle, Millie Thompson improves to 9-0 after throwing her sixth complete game of the season. The junior struck out five while only allowing two hits and retired nine of the final 10 batters she faced to earn the victory.
Game 2 - W, 1-0
In the second game of the day, Clemson once again struck first by capitalizing on an error by the Cavaliers in the bottom of the third. Miklesh led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sac bunt from Davenport. Davenport reached on a throwing error by Virginia’s third baseman that brought Miklesh around to third on the play. A sac fly from McKenzie Clark brought Miklesh home for the 1-0 advantage.
The Tiger defense shut things down for the Virginia offense, preventing the Cavaliers from getting runners past second base in the full seven-inning performance. It started in the circle with Cagle throwing 78 pitches (57 strikes) to pick up five strikeouts. She faced only 24 batters, allowing three hits without giving up a walk to improve to 12-1.
Up Next
Clemson will conclude the series tomorrow with a single-game against Virginia where the Tigers will go for the second ACC sweep of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. on ACC Network.