Clemson softball would get a much-needed win in their last home game of the regular season, beating the Winthrop Eagles 4-0 behind the complete game shutout by Brooke McCubbin.
While the first inning was uneventful, the Eagles would threaten to spoil the Tiger’s home finale in the top of the second. A couple of quick groundouts, one to third baseman Alia Logoleo and the other McCubbin, would secure two quick outs against Winthrop for McCubbin. Left fielder Rivas would then draw a walk from McCubbin on a 3-2 count to get Winthrop a 2-out base runner. On a 3-2 count to Buckner, she’d hit a ball to short stop Maddie Moore who would then overthrow Grace Hiller at first. This would put runners on the corners. Right fielder Rivas, sister of the left fielder, would then pop out to center fielder McKenzie Clark, making another long run to make another athletic catch, would end the Eagle threat.
Both McCubbin and Winthrop pitcher Reese Basinger would hold both lineups at bay for much of the game. In the bottom of the third inning, catcher Jojo Hyatt in the eight spot of the lineup would take the plate for the first batter of the Clemson third. She’d work the count before hitting a line drive to right field and the base hit. Left fielder Arielle Oda would then push a ground ball past the shortstop into the grass to get two runners on base with no outs. Maddie Moore would then have a chance to cash in.
Moore would strike out, however, for the first Clemson out. Second baseman Alex Brown would deliver on a fielder’s choice, with Coach John Rittman opting to challenge the call of out on the field. The call would stand, and the Tigers would have runners on first and third with two outs. After all of that, Clark would strike out, and Clemson would come up empty headed to the fourth.
After another efficient inning from McCubbin, the bottom of the fourth would end up fortuitous for the Tigers.
Designated player Julia Knowler would take the first pitch of the inning out to the gap in right center for a single and get Clemson a base runner. Senior Julia Bomhardt would pinch run for Knowler, giving the Tigers some speed on the base paths. Third baseman Alia Logoleo would pop out to shallow center, which would bring up right fielder Lindsey Garcia – who would hit a base hit to the grass in right for Clemson’s fifth hit of the night. Hiller would strike out, however, giving Basinger her fourth K of the game. Hyatt would now have a chance to bring in a run with a base hit.
She’d take a walk instead, putting the heat on with two outs for Oda. On a full count, Oda would hit a slapper to Basinger. She would then overthrow the first baseman, however, allowing both Bomhardt and Garcia to score and finally break the game open. The next batter Maddie Moore would deliver two more runs with a single up the middle, making the score 4-0 Tigers with two outs. Moore would immediately steal second and then advance to third on a wild pitch. On a full count and a runner on third, Alex Brown would hit the ball back to Basinger who would not overthrow first base this time. The fourth would be over, but the damage would be done.
After a quiet visitor’s half of the fifth, Winthrop would bring in Megan Powell, who was hitting as the designated player, to pitch in relief of Basinger (4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 K, 0 ER) in the bottom half. She’d immediately strike out Clark for her first out. Knowler would ground out to second baseman Temple for out number two, and Logoleo would pop out again to end the inning.
At the end of the night, McCubbin would enter the circle in the seventh looking for the complete game shutout win. She’d get out number one on a ground out to Brown, followed by a strike out to pinch hitter Warren. Brown would struggle to handle a hard hit to her at second from the next pinch hitter Smith, giving Winthrop some life in the seventh. The top of the lineup and VanHouse would get a single hit to the infield, giving the Eagles two runners with two outs. Basinger would re-enter the game as the designated player, but to no avail. McCubbin would get Basinger looking on her sixth strikeout of the game (7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K), and the Tigers win the home finale with a score of 4-0.
John Rittman on the win tonight:
Coach John Rittman, after 4-0 win over Winthrop
Nice win tonight. Impressed with Brooke McCubbin in the circle. She kept us in it while it took our offense a while to get going tonight, but really impressed with Brooke’s performance. Made a few mistakes behind her, and we need to clean those up before this weekend. Jojo Hyatt and Lindsey Garcia had a big big day at the plate for us offensively.. they made that error that broke it open for us, but you know these midweeks are tough and just glad we pulled out the win tonight.
The Tigers hit the road to end the regular season, heading to South Bend, Indiana for a three-game conference tilt with Notre Dame, followed by a road series against Louisville, before heading to Duke for the ACC Tournament. Game one against Notre Dame is Friday at 5pm, streaming live via ESPNU.
Listen to what else Coach Rittman had to say about McCubbin’s big night, Garcia’s success at the plate, and what the Tigers will need to do to host a regional come the postseason below. Note: Rittman was asked about the health of Valerie Cagle, with which he said that they are bringing her back slowly.
