CLEARWATER, Fla. – Freshman Ava Wilson and sophomore Kylee Johnson sparked the Clemson offense in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the game and force extras, but the Tigers ultimately fell to UCF, 6-4, in eight innings. Sophomore Julia Knowler was a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate with one RBI, and senior Alex Brown picked up two hits with one RBI and one run scored for the Tigers. Following the loss, Clemson dropped to 3-6 on the year, while UCF improved to 7-4.
The Knights had the Tigers on their heels in the first two innings of play after capitalizing on a solo home run in the first and three base hits that scored two runs in the second to hold a 3-0 advantage through the first four and a half innings of play.
Clemson found a spark in the bottom of the fifth after Wilson (12 pitches for a walk) and Johnson (eight pitches for a base hit) came in as pinch hitters to turn over the lineup and force UCF to make a pitching change. At the top of the lineup, Brown knocked her first hit of the day into right center for an RBI double. Senior Maddie Moore followed with an RBI single into center to score Johnson and advance Brown to third, but Moore became the first out after being tagged attempting to go for an extra base. Knowler provided a sac fly to center to score Brown to even things at 3-all after five.
With her single in the fifth, Moore is now on a 26-game reached base streak to mark the longest streak by a Tiger in the program’s short history. Her streak dates back to March 28, 2024 at Virginia and surpassed former teammate Valerie Cagle (25 games in 2021).
The Tigers attempted to strike again in the bottom of the sixth with two outs after Marian Collins walked and Taylor Pipkins singled through the right side, but Collins got caught rounding third too far after she advanced as Brown picked up her second hit of the game to end the inning.
The Clemson defense held strong through the top of the seventh, and the Tigers got a runner on in the bottom of the inning, but neither side was able to plate a run to force the game to extras.
Following international tiebreaker rules, UCF started with a runner on second in the top of the eighth. After a sac bunt, a walk and a stolen base, UCF scored two runs with a single into left field. The Knights added an insurance run with a double into right field to make it 6-3 in UCF’s favor heading to the bottom of the eighth.
Again, following international tiebreaker rules, Cintron started at second in the bottom of the eighth. She advanced to third on a ground out and was brought home on a single by Aby Vieira into center. Collins drew a four-pitch walk to put two runners on with two outs but was ruled out on a fielder’s choice in the next at bat to conclude the 6-4 loss.
Senior Brooke McCubbin threw 123 pitches through her 7.1 innings of work. She finished with four strikeouts as she dropped to 1-2 on the season. Senior Reese Basinger threw nine pitches to retire two batters in her 0.2 innings of work.
Up Next
The Tigers conclude weekend action in Florida on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 10 a.m. when they take on Ohio State on ESPNU.
