BRIGHTON, Mass. – A sixth inning grand slam by freshman Taylor Pipkins was the difference in a back-and-forth battle, as the two-seeded Clemson Tigers (42-12) defeated seventh-seeded Virginia Cavaliers (37-17) in the ACC Championship Quarterfinals, 7-4, on Thursday evening. With the win, the Tigers advance to their fifth ACC Championship Semifinals and will take on the winner of Virginia Tech/North Carolina on Friday.
Senior Reese Basinger started the game in the circle by breezing through the first 3.1 innings, striking out three Cavaliers and facing the minimum. A single through the right side of the infield gave the Hoos their first hit of the game, and a stolen base put the lone runner in scoring position. A pop fly to Maddie Moore and a running catch by Kylee Johnson ended the Virginia threat and kept both sides scoreless.
Clemson saw the leadoff hitter reach in each of the first four innings and finally broke through in the fourth. Julia Knowler notched her team-high 17th double to open the frame. Her pinch runner, Kennedy Ariail, stood on third after advancing on a groundout to second. Senior Aby Vieira stepped up to the plate and shot the first pitch she saw through the left side of the infield to bring Knowler home and plate the Tigers’ first run of the game.
After the first two runners reached in the fifth, Clemson called on the veteran Brooke McCubbin in relief. Virginia loaded the bases and with two outs, dropped one into no man’s land in center and scored two. McCubbin retired the next batter and the Tigers headed to the dugout down 2-1.
After the first two Tigers were retired in the fifth, Alex Brown hit a flare to center for a single and put a runner on for Moore. In a 2-1 count, she golfed a home run over the center field wall for her team-high 16th of the season to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead. Her 16 home runs this year are the third most in a single season in school history.
In the top half of the sixth, Virginia reclaimed the lead with a leadoff single followed by a home run. McCubbin retired the next three and Clemson headed to the bottom of the frame trailing by one.
The freshmen delivered for the Tigers in the sixth as Macey Cintron led off by working a walk in a full count. Vieira was hit by a pitch, and a push bunt from Marian Collins rolled by the charging first baseman. Everyone reached safely and the heat was on for Pipkins. In a 2-2 count, the freshman belted one well over the left field wall for her third long ball of the season and gave the Tigers a 7-4 lead with three outs to go.
A quick 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh gave Brooke McCubbin her 14th win of the season and gave Clemson its seventh ACC Championship win in program history.
Up Next
Clemson will return to the diamond on Friday, May 9 for an ACC Championship Semifinal matchup against the winner of Virginia Tech/North Carolina. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on ACC Network.
