CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 19/19 pushed for a late rally with six runs in the final two innings of play, but ultimately fell short to No. 3/3 Duke, 13-9, on Friday evening. The Tigers fall to 28-12 (11-5 ACC), while the Blue Devils improve to 35-4 (14-2 ACC).
Clemson finished with 11 hits with both Maddie Moore and Alia Logoleo tallying three. Logoleo also led the offense with four RBIs. Lindsey Garcia rounded out the multi-hit group with two hits and one RBI.
Duke opened the scoring in the top of the third after the first two runners got on and came home off a sac fly and double, respectively. The Blue Devils extended their lead in the fourth as three runners scored to make it 5-0 midway through the fourth.
Clemson got two runs back in the bottom of the fourth. After McKenzie Clark drew a walk, Logoleo hit a two run, two out home run 232 feet out of left field. It was her seventh home run of the season and brings her career RBI count to 164, which is only 10 shy of cracking the ACC career RBI top 10 list. She finished the night with 165-career RBIs.
In the top of the fifth, Duke looked to respond after getting the first two batters around to second and third with no outs. Clemson’s defense went to work to pick up two quick ground outs before Regan Spencer got the final out with a strikeout looking.
Clemson added another run in the bottom half of the fifth with two outs. After Moore notched her second hit of the night with a single to third, Alex Brown found the gap in right field to plate Moore from first cut the Blue Devils lead down to two.
Duke claimed a larger advantage in the sixth after hitting a grand slam with only one out. The Tigers made a pitching change from Spencer, who finished the night with 5.1 innings of work and four strikeouts, to junior Brooke McCubbin. McCubbin got the Tigers out of the inning with two quick outs.
The Clemson offense came alive in the bottom of the sixth as Clark led off with a double and advanced to third on an obstruction call. She scored as Logoleo drove an RBI single up the middle. Garcia added a single to put runners on the corners to allow JoJo Hyatt, who was pinch hitting for Aby Vieira, to lay down a sac squeeze to plate Logoleo from third. Freshman Kylee Johnson added her 10th RBI of the season with a single to right field that scored Kennedy Ariail, who was running for Garcia. After six, Clemson trailed by three, 9-6.
The Blue Devils responded in the top of the seventh with four runs to take a 13-6 lead into the bottom of the frame. Clemson loaded the bases with no outs to begin the rally as Knowler picked up an RBI by scoring Moore from third.
Cutting into the Blue Devils lead further, Logoleo knocked a double off the left-center wall to plate Brown and put runners on second and third. Garcia followed with a sac fly to score Clark to make it 13-9. The Tigers’ late rally would end there as Duke picked up the final out to take the series opener.
Spencer lost her first game of the 2024 season to move to 8-1. McCubbin pitched the final 1.2 innings and struck out one batter.
Up Next
The Tigers and the Blue Devils continue the series tomorrow at 1 p.m. Fans are encouraged to get to the field early and stay following the alma mater as Clemson will honor 10 student-athletes and one manager on Senior Day.
Tickets for the final three home games of the regular season are still available for purchase. Fans can grab theirs either online or by visiting the ticket table outside the main gate of McWhorter Stadium on the day of the game. For more information on how to manage your tickets, including transferring them if you aren’t able to make it, visit ClemsonTigers.com today.
