After surrendering three runs in the top of the first, the #18-ranked Clemson softball team responded with patience, power, and poise, rolling past Wichita State, 9-3, Sunday afternoon at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, Texas.
The opening pitch was thrown at 9 a.m., and Clemson looked like it took a moment to wake up, surrendering three runs in the first inning including a wild pitch to drive in the third.
It felt early like one of those games that could spiral out of control like Auburn. Instead, it became a quiet statement about how dangerous this lineup as a whole can be when it strings together good at bats.
Clemson finished with ten hits and seven walks, but the real outlier was the fifth inning. Six runs crossed in a frame that turned a one-run game into a runaway train, flipping momentum completely and exposing a Wichita State pitching staff that struggled to locate consistently.
Mac Pavese delivered the knockout swing, going 2-4 with four RBI’s, including a bases-clearing hit that blew the game open. Around him, the Tigers kept applying pressure. Corri Hicks went 2-2 with an RBI and two walks. Kiley Channell added a hit, an RBI, and a walk. Kylee Johnson chipped in an RBI single, while Ava Wilson drove in a run in her lone plate appearance.
The early damage against Sierra Maness could have rattled a less experienced arm. It did not.
Maness settled in and gave Clemson exactly what it needed, tossing seven innings while allowing five hits and three runs, striking out two and working through traffic without allowing the game to snowball. After the first inning, Wichita State managed only two hits the rest of the day.
The Tigers forced Wichita State starter Ryley Nihart to throw 109 pitches in just four and a third innings, drawing five walks and consistently working into hitter-friendly counts. That pressure eventually cracked the Shockers’ staff.
There is a maturity to this Clemson offense right now. It does not chase big innings. It builds them. The Tigers forced Wichita State to throw extra pitches, took free bases when offered, and cashed in when mistakes arrived.
Nine runs on ten hits is impressive. Doing it after falling behind early is even more telling.
For Clemson, this win was not flashy. It was not chaotic. It was controlled. As February continues, games like this start to feel less like early-season experiments and more like a team discovering exactly who it is.
