CLEMSON — For the second straight game, Kylee Johnson came through for No. 11 Clemson in the clutch.

Though it was not a game-winning home run like she hit against No. 5 Florida State in last week’s ACC Championship Game, the leftfielder’s three-run smash in the bottom of the fifth inning was what the Tigers needed to win Game 2 of the Clemson Regional, 10-2, over USC Upstate Friday at McWhorter Stadium.

“We all trust, one through nine, that anybody can get it done. I was just trying to pick up my teammates and I did just that,” Johnson said afterwards. “I was not trying to do anything big. I was just trying to get things going.”

But that is exactly what she did.

With the game tied 2-2, two on with two outs in the fifth, Johnson took the 2-2 changeup from pitcher Maddie Drerup over the wall in leftfield, giving Clemson reliever Brooke McCubbin all the run support she needed to record her 17th victory in the circle.

“Up and down the lineup everybody produced once again. Obviously, Kylee’s big home run was huge. I was blowing it out. I did not know if it was going to make it or not,” Clemson head coach John Rittman said. “The one in the ACC Championship Game was a no doubter, but with this one, I was like, ‘Oh no!’

“I was looking at the flags, I was looking at the balls. I was like, ‘Is it going to go?’ So, that was huge. I am just really proud of Kylee for the way she has fought and battled all year. She deserves all the success she is getting because she is such a good teammate and she works her butt off.”

The win lifts the top seeded Tigers (45-12) to the winners’ bracket game where they will face No. 3 seed Northwestern on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Northwestern beat No. 2 seed Kentucky in Game 1, 4-0, on Friday.

The Spartans (39-15) fall to the elimination bracket where they play the Wildcats in Game 4 at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

After Johnson’s home run, Clemson tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to end the game. Collins, who had three RBIs and was 3-for-3, drove in two runs in the fifth with a double off the wall in right, while Aby Vieira, Macey Cintron and Taylor Pipkins also had RBI hits in the inning.

The game was called in the the bottom of the fifth inning due to the NCAA’s eight-run mercy rule.

“I was definitely a little nervous in the beginning,” Collins said. “My teammates had my back all day. I tried to slow the moment down and really trust each other. That has been our go-to all year. We have tried to put our trust in each other and get the job done.”

Collins also had an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. After Upstate took the lead with two runs in the third inning, Clemson rallied when Maddie Moore doubled to left centerfield to bring Alex Brown home.

Upstate loaded the bases with three straight two out hits in the second inning, but starter Reese Basinger got out of the jam with a strikeout to end the inning. The Spartans got two runs on three hits in the third inning and loaded the bases again. This time McCubbin came in and calmed things down, as she retired the side with no more damage done.

The Tigers took the game over from there, thanks in large part to Johnson and Collins, while McCubbin allowed just one hit the rest of the way.