DURHAM, N.C. - The No. 14/12 Duke Blue Devils hit two home runs to take the series finale, 6-0, against the No. RV/23 Clemson Tigers in Sunday’s rubber match at Smith Family Stadium. With the loss, Clemson fell to 32-19 (13-11 ACC), while Duke improved to 37-13 (20-4 ACC).
Clemson’s lone hits came off the bats of Taylor Pipkins and Jamison Brockenbrough, who finished with two and one respectively. In total, Clemson left eight runners on base after drawing seven walks and having one hit by pitch. Brockenbrough led the way with two walks, while Kiley Channell, Macey Cintron, Sarah Breaux, Corri Hicks and Pipkins all got aboard off a walk.
Duke jumped out to an early lead off of a home run during their first bat of the game. The second, third, and fourth innings went without a run for either team.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Blue Devils recorded their second home run of the night. The two-run homer made the score 3-0. Duke tacked on an additional three runs off of two singles and a walk in the sixth inning. The Tigers had a runner on base in the seventh, but were unable to capitalize, resulting in a 6-0 Duke win.
Graduate Abby Dunning struck out five batters across an initial 5.2 innings of work. Freshman Lexie Hames entered for relief for two batters before Dunning re-entered the game. With the loss, Dunning fell to an 8-8 record.
Up Next
The Tigers have a bye week and will await their seeding for the ACC Tournament that begins on Wednesday, May 6 in Charlottesville, Va. All first-round games at the ACC Tournament will be available to watch on ACC Network.