CLEMSON, S.C. – Alia Logoleo made connection with the ball with two outs in the eighth inning, and Liberty’s first baseman made a crucial error that allowed a run to score to give No. 17/15 Clemson its 11th shutout of the season as the Tigers defeated the Flames, 1-0, to conclude the Tiger Invitational. With the win, Clemson improves to 17-6 on the year as Liberty drops to 14-11.
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In a pure pitcher’s duel between Clemson’s Valerie Cagle and Liberty’s Emily Kirby, the Tigers and the Flames battled for eight innings with neither side budging an inch. Clemson made multiple attempts in the first seven innings to bring a runner home, but each one fell short.
The first opportunity came in the second inning when Cammy Pereria, who finished 3-for-4 on the day, hit a one out single and Logoleo walked but neither advanced past second base. The Tigers made another strong push in the third as McKenzie Clark ripped her fifth double of the season into center and Sam Russ was hit by a pitch. Both advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch but were left stranded to end the inning.
The Flames made their own pushes in the fourth and fifth innings, but Cagle and the Tiger defense put in the work to eliminate all potential threats, pushing the game to extra innings after both sides were tied, 0-0, after seven.
The Flames had a quick three-up-three-down eighth inning, while the Tigers put on the pressure. Marissa Guimbarda started a two-out rally with a ball swiftly hit over the second baseman’s head. Pereira then hit a slow chopper towards the third baseman that was misthrown to advance Ansley Houston to third, who was pinch-running for Guimbarda. To walk it off, Logoleo put the ball in play towards first baseman which resulted in an error and scored Houston from third giving the Tigers the only run of the game.
In the circle, Cagle earned her seventh win and registered nine strikeouts, five hits and no outs before going into extra innings. She added another strikeout in the extra frame to bring her total to 10 strikeouts on the day.
Up Next
The Tigers are back in action Tuesday, March 15 taking on Winthrop in a midweek matchup at McWhorter Stadium at 6 p.m. Clemson will hit the road this weekend to restart ACC play at Duke beginning on Friday, March 18 at 6 p.m.
