Clemson’s Julia Knowler drew a bases loaded two-out walk in the bottom of the sixth inning to plate the go-ahead run, and Brooke McCubbin shut the door on Virginia Tech in the top of the seventh, as the 10th-ranked Tigers rallied from seven runs down Friday to beat the No. 20 Hokies, 10-9, to advance to Saturday’s ACC Championship Game.

The Tigers (43-12) trailed Virginia Tech 9-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning at Harrington Village in Brighton, Mass. With the rain coming down, they scored eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on three hits, a Hokies error and six consecutive free passes from Tech pitching, as they rallied to take their 10-9 lead.

In all, 15 Tigers came to the plate in the Clemson sixth inning. The seven-run comeback is the largest in the ACC this year by any team.

The Hokies (40-11) scored four runs on four hits and a Clemson error to take a commanding 9-2 lead in the top of the sixth inning, as it seemed the Tigers’ run to an ACC Championship was doomed.

Clemson, however, did not give up. After Jamison Brockenbrough grounded out to start the sixth inning, Alex Brown singled and then Maddie Moore doubled to put runners on second and third with one out.

Knowler then reached on a fielding error by Virginia Tech second baseman Rachel Castine, allowing both Brown and Moore to come home.

Trailing 9-4, the Tigers continued to battle. After Macey Cintron drew her fourth walk of the game, and Aby Vieira grounded out for the second out, Marian Collins doubled to left field, plating Knowler and Cintron.

With the score 9-6, Taylor Pipkins, who was the hero in Thursday’s win over Virginia, drew a walk and pinch hitter Haylee Whitesides did the same on Hokies’ ace Emma Lemley.

The night before, in a win over UNC, Lemley threw a one-hit-complete-game shutout. However, in relief on Friday, she was ineffective. In part due to the pouring rain, she could not find the strike zone.

With two outs, Brockenbrough drew a another walk to score a run, and then Brown did the same to make it a one-run game. Lemley then hit Moore to bring home the tying run.

Clemson took its only lead of the afternoon, and scored the eventual game winner, when Knowler drew a sixth consecutive free pass in the inning, which gave the Tigers a 10-9 lead at the time.

In the top of the seventh inning, McCubbin had no issues with the weather, as she came in and shut the door on the Hokies to secure the comeback.

Lots of Mistakes

Clemson and Virginia Tech combined for nine errors, including five from the Tigers, which led to seven unearned runs for the Hokies. Four of Clemson’s 10-runs were unearned.

Up Next

Clemson, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will take on top seeded Florida State in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday.

–photo courtesy of ACC Communications