Photos by Daniel Brandalise, Clemson Athletics
CLEMSON, S.C. — The Clemson Softball team (16-2, 8-2 ACC) scored at least one run in the first four innings of its second game of the day at McWhorter Stadium in an 8-1 win over Furman. With the win, the Tigers’ earned their fourth consecutive series sweep and 13th win in a row. Clemson second-year freshman righty Valerie Cagle, the ACC’s wins leader, improved to 10-1 on the season after pitching 4.0 innings without surrendering a single earned run in Saturday’s second contest. Offensively, the Tigers were led by shortstop Ansley Gilstrap, who went 2-for-3 at the plate and tallied a game-high three RBIs.
Box Score || Box Score (PDF)
With its 8-1 win over the Paladins, Clemson improved to 30-0 all-time when scoring five runs or more.
For the second time of the day, Clemson scored in the bottom of the first to secure an early lead. Cagle registered a 2-RBI single up the middle with runners in scoring position. The Paladins scored their first run of the series in the top of the second on an RBI infield single, which cut the Tigers’ lead to 2-1.
Clemson posted three runs in the bottom of the second as Ansley Gilstrap registered her second home run of the season on a three-run shot to left field with a full count. In the bottom of the third, Clemson dialed up homers from Abi Stuart and Alia Logoleo to extend its lead to 7-1 entering the top of the fourth. The Tigers registered yet another run in the fourth as Marissa Guimbarda posted her 21st RBI of the season on a single through the left side.
Clemson pitchers Emma Whitfield (1.0 IP) and Logan Caymol (2.0 IP) also saw action in the circle in relief for the Tigers. Whitfield and Caymol combined for six strikeouts – three each – and no runs allowed.
The Paladins dropped to 4-11 overall. Furman starting pitcher Shelby Basso suffered the loss and fell to 0-3 on the season.
Up next, Clemson travels to Louisville (7-7, 3-2 ACC) for a four-game series (March 19-21) against the Cardinals at Ulmer Stadium, the home of the 2021 ACC tournament.
For complete coverage of the Tiger softball team, follow @ClemsonSoftball on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook.
