Box Score
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Clemson designated player Marissa Guimbarda hit two home runs and recorded four RBIs to lead the Tigers to their eighth victory of the season. Freshman right-handed pitcher Valerie Cagle, who entered Friday’s second game in relief of Logan Caymol in the top of the third, earned her third win of the season in the circle for the Tigers.
Leading off for Clemson was junior infielder Cammy Pereira, who got things started for the Tigers after hitting her third career home run in the bottom of the first. Then three batters later, Guimbarda smacked her first of two homers of the day on a two-run shot to left field, which scored outfielder Grace Mattimore. Guimbarda’s first-inning home run was the 30th of her career and sixth of the season. It was also the fourth instance this year in which a Guimbarda hit resulted in Clemson taking the lead over its opponent.
Cagle made her second appearance in the circle in the top of the third after throwing a complete game against Villanova earlier in the day. The freshman righty stepped into the circle from center field with one Trojan runner on first. After a wild pitch later in the inning, Cagle maintained her composure and retired the last two Troy batters on swinging strikeouts to get out of the jam.
On the day, Cagle combined for a total of 18 strikeouts in 10.0 innings worth of work.
The Clemson offense heated up in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs in the inning on six hits. Cagle – at the plate – sparked the momentum for the Tigers after her RBI single scored Pereira. Infielders MK Bonamy and Hannah Goodwin also earned RBIs for Clemson in the third.
Guimbarda’s second homer of the game came in the fourth put the Tigers ahead 10-1.
Cagle then retired the next three Troy batters in the top of the fifth to activate the NCAA’s run rule.
With the loss, Troy fell to 7-3.
Clemson, now 8-6 on the season, takes on Oakland (3-2) on Saturday at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at 1 p.m., followed by Stetson (6-6) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday’s games are set to stream on FloSoftball.com with a paid subscription.
For complete coverage of the Tiger softball team, follow @ClemsonSoftball on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook.
