Freshman pitcher Macey Cintron had a standout performance Wednesday night, striking out 10 batters to help No. 24/21 Clemson take down Winthrop 4-1 at McWhorter Stadium. The win pushes the Tigers to 31-11 on the season, while Winthrop falls to 23-18.
Cintron matched her season-high in strikeouts—tying the 10 she recorded earlier this year against Elon. She allowed just two hits and one walk across six innings, with 14 of her 18 outs coming by strikeout or groundout. She was perfect through two innings and didn’t allow a hit until the sixth. After two singles in that frame, Winthrop managed to break up both the no-hitter and the shutout, but Cintron bounced back with a clean seventh to improve her record to 7-2.
Clemson got things going early. In the first inning, they loaded the bases with a hit and two walks. Senior Aby Vieira grounded out but still brought in a run as Alex Brown scored to make it 1-0. The Tigers added another in the second when Kylee Johnson singled, advanced on an error, and scored on a groundout by Brown. Jamison Brockenbrough and Johnson also pulled off a double steal in that inning to get into scoring position.
Another big moment came when senior Maddie Moore stole second after drawing a walk—her 46th career stolen base, tying Clemson’s all-time record with McKenzie Clark.
The game stayed quiet until the sixth when Winthrop finally broke through with their first hits and a run. Clemson responded right away. Moore and Julia Knowler opened the bottom of the inning with hits, and Knowler’s double to left scored Moore. It was Knowler’s 14th double of the season, putting her third on Clemson’s all-time single-season doubles list—just behind Valerie Cagle and Caroline Jacobsen, who each had 15 last year. That RBI was also her 51st of the season, tying her for second-most in a single season by a Clemson player.
Sophomore Kennedy Ariail, who came in as a pinch runner for Knowler, scored later in the inning on a fielding error that allowed Vieira to reach safely, making it 4-1.
Clemson finished with eight hits on the night. Brown and Johnson each had two, while Moore, Knowler, Brockenbrough, and Taylor Pipkins each added one.
What’s Next:
The Tigers now head out on the road for a three-game ACC series against NC State in Raleigh, starting Friday, April 11. First pitch is set for 8 p.m. on ACC Network.
