Guimbarda homers, Cagle dominant as Tigers win 11th straight |
The No. 25-ranked Clemson softball team won its 11th-straight game, breaking the program record for consecutive victories in an 8-0 win on Friday night over Furman inside of McWhorter Stadium.
Valerie Cagle was dominant in the circle once again for the Tigers, recording her ninth win of the season. Cagle moves to 9-1 on the season and has the most wins (9) and shutouts (4) in the ACC. Marissa Guimbarda was 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run and three RBI. The three RBI on the day gave Guimbarda 20 on the season, the most in the ACC. Abi Stuart also had a nice day at the plate for the Tigers, driving in three runs and recording two doubles in the win. “We focus a lot here on quality at-bats,” Guimbarda said after the game about her leading the ACC in RBI. “Obviously it’s a great accomplishment, and this is a really fun game to play.” Clemson moves to 14-2 on the season and will finish the three-game series with Furman Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. (ACCNX). The Tigers also move to 28-0 all-time when scoring five or more runs in a game under head coach John Rittman. “Winning 11-straight is really special,” Rittman said on the Tigers' winning streak. “I love the way our team competes, I love their spirit, their competitiveness and we’re getting production from all kinds of different people." Clemson threatened to put runs on the scoreboard its first time up to the plate, leading off the inning with a walk to McKenzie Clark and Ansley Gilstrap was hit by a pitch the next at-bat. Back-to-back strikeouts and a ground out to the shortstop ended the threat. The Paladins got their first runner on base in the top of the third inning, drawing a walk with two outs. Cagle grounded the following batter out to third base for the final out of the half-inning. Clemson took the lead in the bottom half of the inning, scoring two runs on two hits to take a 2-0 lead. The inning started with the senior Gilstrap drawing her second walk of the game. After stealing her eighth base in eight tries this year, she was moved over to third on a Cagle ground out the following batter. Guimbarda gave the Tigers their first run of the contest with a slapper hit to the shortstop who was unable to corral the ball and throw Gilstrap out at the plate. Stuart doubled the Tigers lead the next batter, doubling off the shortstop glove who took a tough break in back-to-back plays. The Tigers added to their lead in the fifth inning, increasing the lead to 6-0. Cagle led the inning off drawing a walk and was moved over to third base after a Guimbarda double. Stuart cleared the bases the next at-bat to drive in her second and third runs of the game. Kyah Keller picked up her fifth RBI of the season the following batter on a sacrifice fly to right field. Casey Bigham also joined in during the fifth inning rally, driving a single down the right-field line to score Alia Logoleo from third to make it a 6-0 ballgame. The Paladins threatened to get on the board in the sixth inning after putting runners on first and second with one out. Cagle remained calm after giving up back-to-back singles and forced a line out to Bigham at second who tossed it over to Keller at first for the inning-ending double play. Guimbarda hit her sixth home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth to walk-off the game due to the run rule. GUIMBARDA, GOODNIGHT?? pic.twitter.com/6pC6nrFL30 Nothing gets by her ??
Casey Bigham turns her third double play of the season to get us out of jam and end the top half of the sixth inning ??
?? ACCNX pic.twitter.com/BHNwgcRWRR
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