No. 19 Tigers give up 13 runs in defeat to Blue Devils |
The No. 19 Clemson softball team gave up a program record in runs to the ACC-leading Duke Blue Devils, 13-9, on Friday at McWhorter Stadium.
Duke, which is ranked as high as No. 1 nationally, improved to 34-3 overall and 14-2 in ACC action, while the Tigers dropped to 28-12 overall and 11-5 in conference play. Duke got on the board in the third inning by manufacturing a run that was capped by a Claire Davidson sacrifice fly, and Aminah Vega doubled the lead with a double to the gap. The Blue Devils kept the pressure on in the fourth frame, scoring three more runs on singles from Jada Baker and Kelly Torres. Clemson right-handed starter Regan Spencer (8-1) came into the game leading the ACC in ERA with just eight earned runs given up in over 70-plus innings going into that third frame. She finished with more earned runs in the game (9) than that season total coming in. The Tigers got a couple of runs back in the fourth on Alia Logoleo's two-run shot to left field. Clemson scratched another one across with an Alex Brown RBI double in the fifth inning, but Brown was thrown out to end the rally trying to stretch the hit into a triple. After working out of trouble in the fifth inning, Spencer loaded up the bases in the sixth, and Vega’s grand slam to center just escaped McKenzie Clark's outstretched glove to put the Blue Devils in charge. Duke’s Lillie Walker, making her first start this season, improved to 10-1. The Tigers did score a season-high in runs Duke allowed for a team that came in leading the country in ERA. Logoleo totaled four RBIs. Clemson's reigning national player of the year, Valerie Cagle, was held out for a third straight game while in concussion protocol following a collision in the Syracuse series last weekend. Duke softball, which started play as a program in 2018, improved to 8-3 all-time against Clemson. Duke had scored the previous high in runs on the Tigers in 2020 (11). The series resumes at McWhorter Stadium at 1 p.m. on Saturday (ACCNX). 🔜 Rally pic.twitter.com/6JXM4eucmf
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