Pipkins' grand slam guides Tigers to ACC semifinals over Cavaliers |
Brandon Rink
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- Thursday, May 08 2025
A back-and-forth ACC softball tournament quarterfinal was punctuated by a sixth-inning grand slam from freshman Taylor Pipkins to put Clemson on top, advancing to the semifinals over 7-seed Virginia, 7-4.
Clemson down 4-3 going into the half-inning, it was the fourth lead change of the game total, all from the fourth inning-on, after the Tigers had loaded up the bases with a walk, hit batter and bunt single. It was just Pipkins' third home run of the season. Clemson (42-12) is scheduled to face the winner between 3-seed Virginia Tech and 6-seed North Carolina at 12:30 p.m. in Brighton, Massachusetts, on Friday (ACCN). Clemson improved to 5-0 all-time in the ACC quarters and 13-2 all-time against the Cavaliers (37-17). After earning the ACC’s two-seed and coming in with RPI of 13, the Tigers hope to have clinched a home NCAA Tournament regional for the third time in four seasons. Virginia left-handed starter Courtney Layne got some help early and worked her way out of a jam after Clemson put leadoff runners on in the first three innings. In the first two frames, Layne induced double plays to erase Tiger baserunners, but with runners on the corners in the third, Layne notched strikeouts against the top of the Clemson order with Alex Brown and Maddie Moore. The fourth consecutive time with a leadoff runner was the charm for Clemson after a Julia Knowler double off the left field wall and a one-out RBI single to left field off of Aby Vieira’s bat. Virginia flipped the score in the top of the fifth after putting two on against starter Reese Basinger and then loading up the bags by way of a hit batter from Tiger reliever Brooke McCubbin (14-5). Jade Hylton then dropped a two-out, two-run single in center field. That was another short-lived lead in the game, however, after Moore skied a two-run homer to center field to put Clemson back on top, 3-2. That was her team-leading 16th homer of the season. The trend continued in the sixth thanks to a crushed two-run homer from Macee Eaton off of McCubbin to put Virginia back in the lead. McCubbin put up a first zero on the board since the fourth with a 1-2-3 seventh inning to secure the win. Pipkins had the only multi-hit effort of the game, going 2-for-3 with the four RBIs and run scored. B4 | Tigers on the board! B5 | Maddie was made for MOORE 🚀💣💥 B6 | TAYLOR PIPKINS IS ONLY A FRESHMAN!!!
Aby Vieira with the RBI single through the left side to score Kennedy Ariail for the first run of the game
📺 ACC Network pic.twitter.com/LjP08tZl6t
Moore with a two-run shot for her 16th of the year. Clemson leads 3-2
📺 ACC Network pic.twitter.com/6uhM82wgKt
With the bases loaded, Pipkins goes YARD!!!
📺 ACC Network pic.twitter.com/oKlvbFzlfr
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