CLEMSON, S.C. – Senior Maddie Moore hit her seventh home run of the season and had multiple hits in a game for the 11th time this year, but it was not enough as Clemson (18-8, 1-2 ACC) fell to No. 14/16 Duke (17-7, 2-1 ACC), 2-1, in Sunday’s rubber match.
“Touch loss today,” said Head Coach John Rittman. “I love the way our team competed. Reese Basinger was phenomenal in the circle for us – she pitched well enough to win. We hit a lot of balls hard right at people and not a lot to show for it. I love the way our team fought back after they scored with Maddie Moore coming up with the big hit. Again, we had runners in scoring position and the winning run at the plate, so you can see how our team fights. It was two really good, matched teams going at it this weekend. Unfortunately, we came out on the short end of the stick. We will learn from this and continue to have a growth mindset with our young players to get ready for North Carolina.”
Duke got on the board first in the fourth inning on an RBI triple down the right field line to go up 1-0. Clemson answered in the bottom when Moore hit a solo shot 251 feet to right to even the game.
After a scoreless fifth, Duke hit back-to-back singles to lead off the sixth, but senior right hander Reese Basinger retired the next three batters to get the Tigers out of the jam. The Blue Devils reclaimed the lead in the top of the seventh after a two-out single put a runner on first and a passed ball advanced her to second before a throwing error brought her home.
Down one in the seventh, freshman Sam Minish singled to left to lead off the inning, but the next three batters were all retired as the Tigers fell 2-1.
Basinger pitched the complete seven-inning contest with four strikeouts. She falls to 6-3 on the year.
Up Next
Clemson concludes its home stretch with a three-game series next weekend against North Carolina. The Tigers will continue ACC action on Friday, March 14 at 6 p.m. on ACCNX. Fans can purchase tickets to catch all the action at McWhorter here.
