For six and a half innings Saturday afternoon at McWhorter Stadium, nothing happened. And that was the point.
Abby Dunning was perfect through the first three innings. Not a single Georgia Tech batter reached base. She allowed two walks over the final four frames but no Yellow Jacket ever reached second base. Not one hit allowed. Ninety-nine pitches. A complete-game no-hitter. She’s now 5-2 on the season.
Then Corri Hicks ended it.
With one swing in the bottom of the seventh, Hicks launched a solo homer to left center off Georgia Tech reliever Makayla Coffield to give No. 25 Clemson a 1-0 victory and a 2-0 series lead. Her fourth home run of the year. The biggest one yet.
A Pitchers’ Duel That Belonged to Dunning
Georgia Tech’s pitching wasn’t the problem. Tymber Harris threw three scoreless innings, Sydnie Watts followed with 2.1 more, and Coffield entered with the game still knotted at zero. Three arms, two Clemson hits allowed. Kiley Channell singled. Hicks homered. That was the entire Clemson hit column.
But Dunning was on another level.
Four strikeouts doesn’t sound like a lot on paper. It doesn’t need to. Dunning’s game Saturday was about weak contact and ground balls, letting her defense work behind her while she kept Georgia Tech’s lineup guessing for seven innings. The Yellow Jackets managed just two baserunners, both on walks, and never advanced past first. Georgia Tech committed two errors, but neither led to anything until Hicks’ blast in the seventh.
Think about that. Twenty-one batters faced over seven innings. Zero hits allowed. In a conference game. That’s the kind of outing that can define a season.
Three Straight Wins and Counting
Thursday it was offense. A 9-4 comeback against the same Georgia Tech squad with timely hitting and a big offensive outburst. Friday was the polar opposite. One run. Two hits. And a pitcher who simply refused to let anything through.
That range matters in ACC play. The Tigers have won three straight and sit at 16-7 overall, 2-0 in conference. This is the same team that knocked off No. 12 Mississippi State less than two weeks ago and beat No. 11 Georgia on the road before that. The wins keep coming, and they keep looking different.
What Comes Next
Clemson goes for the series sweep Sunday at 6 p.m. against Georgia Tech at McWhorter. First ACC series of the year, and a chance to open 3-0 in conference.
After what Dunning did Saturday, good luck to whoever has to step into that box Sunday night.
