Liberty University
14-10
Clemson
16-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Clemson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
No. 15 Clemson Escapes in 8 Innings, 5-4 Over Liberty
3/13/2022 6:49:53 PM | Softball
Liberty twice found itself one out away from closing out an upset win over No. 15 Clemson on Sunday, but the host Tigers battled back for a 5-4, walk-off win in eight innings.
Clemson improves to 16-6 on the season with its fourth straight win. Liberty falls to 14-10 with its fourth loss in a row. All three of the Lady Flames’ games at this weekend’s Tiger Invitational have resulted in one-run losses, with two coming in extra innings.
Turning Point
Liberty led Clemson 3-2 with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the seventh. Sam Russ drew a walk, stole second and then scored on a single by Valerie Cagle. Marissa Guimbarda then doubled down the left field line, but Cagle was thrown out at home, sending the game to extras.
The Lady Flames manufactured a run with the International tiebreaker in effect to start the eighth inning, as Mary Claire Wilson bunted the pinch runner Courtney Poulich over and KC Machado made it 4-3 Liberty with a sacrifice fly.
In the home half of the eighth, a bunt put runners on the corners with nobody out. Two groundouts ensued, leaving runners on second and third with two outs. Pinch hitter Kyah Keller came through with the biggest hit of the game, a two-run walk-off single up the middle.
Scoring Summary
Clemson – 1st INNING – Russ homers to right, 1-0
Liberty – 3rd INNING – Hudson steals third, scores on throwing error, Allan advances, 1-1
Liberty – 4th INNING – Howard homers to left center, Howard and Roupe score, 3-1
Clemson – 6th INNING – Taylor singles to center, Oda scores, 3-2
Clemson – 7th INNING – Cagle singles to left, Russ scores, 3-3
Liberty – 8th INNING – Machado flies out the left, sacrifice fly, Poulich scores, 4-3
Clemson – 8th INNING – Keller singles up the middle, Pereira and Houston score, 5-4
Notable Numbers
- Clemson outhit Liberty 10-6 for the game. Liberty committed two errors, compared to one for the Tigers. The Lady Flames left nine runners on base, while Clemson stranded eight.
- Brooke McCubbin (3-1) earned the win, allowing one unearned run on two hits, striking out four and walking two in four innings of relief. Starter Regan Spencer lasted four innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits, walking three and fanning one. Spencer had not given up a run in 21 1/3 innings pitched this season before today.
- Karlie Keeney (8-5) drew the tough-luck loss, yielding five runs (three earned) on 10 hits, walking two and striking out two in the longest outing of her career. She threw 149 pitches.
- Cagle, Guimbarda and Bailey Taylor had two hits each for Clemson, with Guimbarda recording two doubles. Keller drove in two runs, while Russ stole two bases and hit her first homer of the season.
- Devyn Howard batted 3-for-4 with a homer, two RBI and one run scored from the leadoff spot. Caroline Hudson batted 2-for-4 with a stolen base and one run scored.
Beyond the Box Score
- This was Liberty’s first meeting with Clemson in softball all-time. Liberty is 2-1 against ACC teams this season, with home wins over Virginia and Notre Dame.
- Liberty is 0-2 this season in extra-inning games and 1-4 in one-run contests.
- The Lady Flames are now 0-7 when an opponent scores in the first inning and 1-10 when its opponent scores first this year.
- Liberty holds a 1-6 record this season against nationally-ranked opponents.
- The last time Liberty played three straight one-run games was April 2-3, 2021 against Kennesaw State, a pair of losses (3-2, 5-4) followed by a 3-2 win over the Owls in the series finale.
- Howard has reached base safely in each of the last 14 games, while Griffin has reached base safely in 11 consecutive games played.
- Liberty has homered in each of its last four games.
- Wilson celebrated her birthday today, and had a key sacrifice bunt in the top of the eighth.
Up Next
Liberty and Clemson will wrap up the Tiger Invitational tomorrow at 4 p.m. with a single game at McWhorter Stadium.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McCubbin,B (3-1)
L: Keeney, Karlie (8-5)
Batting:
HR: Howard, Devyn 1
RBI: Howard, Devyn 2 ; Machado, KC 1
SH: Canetto, Kara 1 ; Wilson, Mary Claire 1
SF: Machado, KC 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Howard, Devyn 1 ; Hudson, Caroline 1 ; Poulich, Courtney 1 ; Roupe, Rachel 1
SB: Hudson, Caroline 1
CS: Allan, Lou 1
HBP: Canetto, Kara 1
Batting:
2B: Guimbarda,M 2
HR: Russ,S 1
RBI: Russ,S 1 ; Cagle,V 1 ; Taylor,B 1 ; Keller,K 2
SH: Pereira,C 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Russ,S 2 ; Oda,A 1 ; Houston,A 1 ; Pereira,C 1
SB: Russ,S 2
CS: Shannon,C 1
