Head coach John Rittman and the 2023 Tigers continued their opening weekend win streak with two dominant wins over Kansas City (8-1) and Georgia State (11-3) at Felsberg Field at the FIU Softball Stadium on Saturday.

In Clemson’s first game of the day against Kansas City, the Roos got on the board first in the first inning of play thanks to third baseman Lexy Smith’s RBI double that scored outfielder Kiki McCrea for the first lead of Saturday’s matchup.

After a scoreless first inning for the Tigers and two outs in the bottom of the second, catcher JoJo Hyatt and third baseman Reedy Davenport hit back-to-back RBI singles to score Miklesh and Hyatt respectively. Clemson took its first lead of the day after two by a score of 2-1.

Following a scoreless third inning for both sides, the Tigers opened the game wide open with five runs scored off four hits highlighted by sophomore Maddie Moore’s first home run of the year — a three-run bomb to left center that gave Clemson the 6-1 lead into the fifth.

Despite the Tigers third scoreless inning of the game in the fifth inning, Clemson tacked on another two runs in the sixth thanks to Morgan Johnson’s two-RBI single off the bench for a final score of 8-1.

Clemson right-handed pitcher Brooke McCubbin earned her first start and win of the season in 5.0 innings pitched and only gave up two hits while Roos right-hander Jenna Milan tallied the loss for Kansas City.

Into the Tigers second game of the day versus Georgia State, Clemson once again trailed early in the first by one. After the Panther’s led off with outfielder Emily Brown’s single to left, Bailee Richardson hit her second RBI single of the weekend against the Tigers to give Georgia State the early 1-0 lead after one.

After a clutch double play by Clemson’s infield in the top half of the inning, catcher JoJo Hyatt came in clutch, hitting a two-run single to right field to give Clemson their first lead of the game.

The Tigers scored three more runs off four hits in the third. With the bases loaded, Hyatt came in clutch yet again with another two-run single that scored Ansley Houston and Jacobsen to extend Clemson’s lead to 5-1.

Following a costly Georgia State error at shortstop in the fourth, the Tigers tallied another three runs, all unearned.

After a scoreless fifth inning, the Panthers came up with their final answer in the sixth. With runners on second and third, catcher Carolyn Deady singled to left center to score both Richardson and Jaycee Goodwin, putting Georgia State within five. Clemson responded in the bottom half of the sixth inning with a three-run double hit by Hyatt once again to walk off Georgia State by a final score of 11-1.

Left-handed pitcher Millie Thompson earned her second win in her second start of the 2023 season, pitching all six innings, while right-hander Emily Hodnett collected her first loss of the season.

Catcher JoJo Hyatt led the Tigers on the day overall, going 6-for-7 at the plate and knocking in a whopping eight combined RBIs.

Clemson returns to Felsberg Field at the FIU Softball Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 12, for the Tigers final matchup of the FIU Tournament against the FIU Panthers. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

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