Friday night was a homecoming for Clemson head coach John Rittman and, at least on Friday night, his Clemson Softball team made it a good one.

After starting the Stanford Softball program and leading the Cardinal for 17 years, Rittman returned to Northern California for the first time since 2014. Led by California native Maddie Moore, the 25th-ranked Tigers gave their head coach a 7-5 victory over the 17th-ranked Cardinal at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, Calif.

Rittman led Stanford to 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including two College World Series appearances in 2001 and 2004.

Moore, who grew up two hours down the road from Stanford, homered on the game’s second at-bat, which also plated Alex Brown. Clemson never looked back from there.

The Tigers’ second baseman finished the night 2-for-3 at the plate, drove in two runs and scored three times. Julia Knowler went 2-for-4, including a three-run blast in the top of the sixth inning that extend the Tigers lead to 7-2 at the time.

Stanford (24-7, 8-5 ACC) was led by Emily Jones’ 2-for-3, RBI night, while River Mahler was 2-for-4 with two runs driven in.

The win gives Clemson a 1-0 lead in the three-game series.

Clemson (29-10, 10-3 ACC) extend its lead to 3-0 after Aby Vieira was hit by a pitch with two outs and the bases loaded in the third inning, which allowed Brown to come home.

The Cardinal got single runs in the third and fourth innings to cut the Tigers lead to one, 3-2. However, Vieira earned her second RBI of the night when she drew a bases-loaded-walk with one out in the top of the fifth inning. The walk scored Moore for a 4-2 lead.

In the sixth inning, Jamison Brockenbrough got a one-out hit and Moore singled with two outs, settling up Knowler’s three-run homer for a 7-2 lead.

Again, the Cardinal battled back in the bottom of the sixth inning. Designated player Kylie Chung got a two-out solo home run and then Mahler doubled to centerfield to score two more runs, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 7-5.

Despite giving up five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings of work, Reese Basinger earned the win for the Tigers in the circle. Brooke McCubbin came in with two outs in the sixth inning to earn the save.

Up Next

Clemson and Stanford will play Game 2 of the three-game series on Saturday. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. EST.