It is always a great feeling to deliver a team’s first loss of the season, and that’s exactly what the Tigers did to No. 10/11 Georgia on Wednesday, defeating it 5-3 for their seventh consecutive win.
The victory also marked the first time since 2022 that the Tigers beat a top 10 opponent.
Alex Brown powered the offense with two hits and an RBI, while Reese Basinger held down the fort on the mound, pitching 5.0 innings and striking out eight. Macey Cintron, Jamison Brockenbrough and Julia Knowler each recorded an RBI, with Knowler’s coming off a solo home run.
Brown led off the game with a double, followed by Maddie Moore drawing a walk. Cintron then delivered with a double of her own, scoring Brown and giving the Tigers an early 1-0 lead.
The score was doubled in the third inning after Knowler’s 256-foot bomb, her sixth of the season.
The Bulldogs (14-1) responded in the top of the fifth with back-to-back doubles to bring in a run, and a two-run homer by pinch-hitter Tyler Ellison tied the game at 3-3. This ended Brockenbrough’s evening as Brooke McCubbin was called in for relief, who managed to hold the score steady.
Tigers’ pinch-hitter Haylee Whitesides got the opportunity to make an impact in the bottom of the fifth and did just that with a double to right center. This energized the Tigers, as Sam Minish singled to advance pinch-runner Kennedy Ariail to third — Minish then moved to second on the throw home.
A misthrow on Brockenbrough’s flyout to center allowed Ariail to score, giving Clemson the lead. With the score now 4-3 in favor of Clemson, Brown provided an insurance run with a single to the right side, scoring Minish from third.
With a 5-3 lead and plenty of momentum going into the final frame, McCubbin had the tying run on board but managed to get out of the jam. A pop-out, a strikeout and then a ground-out to Moore sealed Clemson’s biggest win of its early season.
Clemson (10-6) remains at home for a three-day homestand during the Tiger Invitational, facing Lafayette, East Carolina and Indiana.
