DURHAM, N.C. - The No. RV/23 Clemson Tigers picked up their 10th Top 25 victory with a 13-11 upset against No. 14/12 Duke on Saturday afternoon. Junior Kiley Channell led the Tigers with a career-high five RBIs, while Macey Cintron, Marian Collins and Kylee Johnson all tallied multi-run homers. Jamison Brockenbrough rounded out the Tigers with multiple RBIs, clocking two off two hits.
Cintron got the Tigers on the board in the top of the first inning. With two outs and a runner on first, Cintron sent the fourth pitch of her at bat out of left center for her seventh home run of the year to score Mac Pavese. The Blue Devils responded in the bottom of the inning with five runs after loading the bases early with no outs. A sac fly, single and home run made it 5-2 in Duke’s favor after one.
Clemson evened things in the top of the second as Sarah Breaux led off the inning with a single. She advanced to second as Taylor Pipkins clocked a two-out single and returned home as Brockenbrough found the gap in left center for an RBI single. After Duke made a pitching change with runners on first and second, Channell brought them both home with a double off the left-center wall to make it 5-5 through two.
After a quiet third inning, Clemson reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth. Pipkins led off with a full-count walk and quickly stole second. She came home after Brockenbrough singled to right center and a throwing error that allowed Brockenbrough to advance to third allowed Pipkins to take home. Channell stepped up and delivered a sac fly down the left field line to bring Brockenbrough home and make it a 7-5 game in Clemson’s favor.
The Blue Devils attempted to get a run back in the bottom of the fourth, but Johnson, who robbed a potential Duke home run in the third, continued to shine in left field and made a perfectly executed throw to Sam Minish at the plate to execute the tag and end the inning and keep the advantage in Clemson’s favor.
Clemson extended its lead in the fifth after Breaux led off with a single. Pinch runner Kennedy Ariail was ruled out, but Minish reached on the fielder’s choice and took second after Johnson was hit by a pitch. The Tigers loaded the bases with two outs after Brockenbrough was hit by a pitch that forced Duke to make its third pitching change of the day. With two outs and the bases loaded, Channell delivered with a two-RBI single back up the middle to make it 9-5 for the Tigers.
Both sides put up multiple runs in the sixth. Clemson added four off multi-run homers hit by Collins and Johnson. Collins’ homer was her sixth of the year, while it was Johnson’s third. Duke closed the gap in the bottom of the inning with six runs off a solo homer, fielder’s choice and three-run homer. After six, Clemson held a 13-11 edge.
Duke made a strong push in the bottom of the seventh to take the game after the leadoff drew a walk and advanced to second as the next batter singled. A lineout to Pavese at first and a fielder’s choice put runners on the corners with two outs. Clemson closed the door as Abby Dunning forced a groundout to Channell at shortstop to end the game and give the Tigers the 13-11 victory.
Dunning finished the day with three strikeouts in six innings of work. She faced 29 batters as she improved to 8-7 on the year in the circle. Cintron threw one inning of work in relief.
Up Next
The Tigers conclude the regular season on Sunday, April 26 at 5 p.m. with the series finale against No. 14/12 Duke.