When Alex Brown stepped up to the plate to open the Austin (Texas) Super Regional on Thursday night, she was not intimidated.

Clemson’s third baseman was not intimidated by the 1,500 fans at McCombs Field, in Austin. She was not intimidated by the atmosphere. She was not intimidated by the moment, and most importantly, she was not intimidated by Texas ace Teagan Kavan.

The Texas Longhorns pitcher came into Game 1 of the Super Regional with a 23-4 record and with an array of pitches that keep batters off balance and uncomfortable.

But Brown opened the game with base hit to leftfield. And even though the game was delayed an hour and a half after her single, it did not change her approach.

The senior came back from the lightning delay and recorded two more hits and scored twice, while helping No. 11 Clemson beat the sixth overall seed Longhorns, 7-4, in Game 1 of the Super Regional.

“As the leadoff batter, I am just trying to get on base,” Brown said. “I know I have eight other guys behind me that are just so amazing. So, I know, if I can get on and kind of create chaos, usually we can score some runs. So, that is my job.”

In the Tigers’ last two wins in this NCAA Tournament, Brown has tallied five hits and scored four times. Her approach on Thursday night set the tone for the Tigers in their first ever Super Regional victory.

Clemson is now one win away from advancing to its first Women’s College World Series.

“Alex Brown is a winner. She is a baller. If you look at her uniform, she is covered head to toe in dirt,” Clemson head coach John Rittman said.

Brown finished the night 3-for-5 at the plate and was on base four times, as she also reached on a fielder’s choice in the sixth inning.

The Tigers (48-12) finished the night with 11 hits, nine of those coming off Kavan.

“She has (pitched) a lot of innings, so we knew we were going to face her coming in and she is such a great pitcher,” Brown said. “My goal was to attack early and when she throws pitches in the strike zone. You have to attack those because she has a lot of other great pitches.”

Brown’s success led to success for others, as Maddie Moore tallied two hits while Marian Collins and Julia Knowler each had a hit that drove in two runs each.

“Alex is somebody that is driven by excellence. She wants to succeed with every at-bat… She is taking pitches and is being patiently aggressive at the plate and getting big timely hits for us,” Rittman said. “She is setting the table for Maddie, Julia, (Macey) Cintron, (Aby) Vieira and Collins. She has done a great job and I’m very proud of her effort tonight.”

• 🆚 Opponent: at Texas
• 🗓 Date/Time: Friday, May 23 • 9 p.m. ET
• 📍 Venue: Red & Charline McCombs Field • Austin, Texas
• 📺 Watch: ESPN2
• 📊 Stats: Live Stats 
• 📻 Listen: WCCP FM • ONLINE
• ✨ Home: Clemson will be the designated home team