Over the weekend, the No. 17 ranked Clemson softball team (27-11, 11-4 ACC) swept the Syracuse Orange (16-17, 4-11 ACC) in a three-game series on the road.
The Tigers never trailed in any of the three games, outscoring the Orange 30-4 in total, with two of the three games finishing by a run rule.
On Saturday, junior infielder Maddie Moore opened the series with a home run on the first at-bat of the game. Clemson also had a six-run second inning to make it 7-1 early.
With the game standing relatively still for the next two innings, six more Clemson runs in the fifth would make it 13-2, enough to close the game early and give pitcher Regan Spencer her seventh win of the season.
In the opening game of Sunday’s doubleheader, the Tigers took advantage of Syracuse’s mistakes and scored their first run of the game after two walks and two hit-by-pitches. Throughout the game, Clemson saw just three batters record hits; however, they scored 10 runs with the help of seven walks, three hit-by-pitches and one error by the Orange.
Clemson finished the top of the first with a 4-0 lead, and after Auburn transfer Lindsey Garcia’s home run in the third, the team found themselves up 7-1. Senior Millie Thompson looked confident with the lead and pitched a complete game, allowing just one run and fanning seven batters.
Three more runs came the Tigers’ way in the sixth to add to the gap, and Clemson would win game one of the doubleheader 10-1.
In the final game of the series, Clemson once again came out hot, scoring four runs in the first two innings in what would be a more defensive-focused game.
The bats slowed for the Tigers, but Brooke McCubbin never allowed the Orange to gather any momentum, carrying the lead through five innings and allowing just one run to keep a three-run advantage.
Late in game three, Clemson loaded the bases on an error and scored on back-to-back walks in an eventual three-run sixth inning.
The Tigers’ defense then sealed the deal, holding Syracuse to zero runs in the final two innings to end their trip up north with a 7-1 victory.
Clemson will take the field again on Tuesday, April 9, as they take on South Carolina for a one-game series in Columbia, South Carolina, at 7 p.m.
