No. 7 Clemson finished off a stellar weekend at McWhorter Stadium with a dominant 10-0 shutout victory in five innings over the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday afternoon at the ACC/Big 10 Challenge in Clemson, S.C.

The Tigers took control from the start thanks to three home runs hit in Clemson’s first four at-bats of the day by outfielders McKenzie Clark and Caroline Jacobsen and two-way player Valerie Cagle. Cagle now leads the Tigers in home runs with six on the year through 10 games.

“No question, we have power up and down our lineup,” head coach John Rittman said following Sunday’s victory. “Obviously that first inning on slot with Clark, Cagle and Jacobsen hitting home runs, it took a lot of pressure off of everybody, but we just hit the ball really well all weekend and faced some good pitching too. Really proud of the way our defense stepped up this weekend.”

Clemson righthander Regan Spencer earned the win for the Tigers in 5.0 innings pitched, her first of the 2023 season while Ohio State’s Emily Ruck tallied the loss.

The Tigers started Sunday’s game off with a bang thanks to four runs brought in by three homers in the first inning of play. Clark came in clutch on a full count with a leadoff bomb down the left field line to give Clemson the early 1-0 lead.

Just two batters later with a runner on second and no outs, Cagle launched a two-run homer over the left field wall which was quickly followed by Jacobsen’s solo bomb to left center to give Clemson the 4-0 lead after one.

After a scoreless second inning for both ball clubs, Clemson left fielder Ally Miklesh hit an RBI single to score pinch runner Julia Bomhardt from second base, extending the Tigers lead to 5-0 over the Buckeyes through three.

Into the fifth inning, Clemson kept its home run party alive, hitting its fourth homer of the day thanks to second baseman Maddie Moore’s three-run bomb to deep right center to score Miklesh and Reedy Davenport. Freshman Marena Knowles tacked on two more runs later in the fifth with a two-RBI single to left center to give Clemson the 10-run advantage and eventual 10-0 run-rule victory after five innings.

With Sunday’s win, Clemson remains a perfect 10-0 on the season while Cagle led the Tigers on the day, going 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs, two RBIs and one home run.

“Just really like the way we’re playing right now,” Rittman said. “We got a lot of players coming off the bench and of course our rookie Marena Knowles came in with a big two out, two run RBI hit there, was really cool to see her do that. Just really proud of our performance and getting ready for the Georgia Bulldogs this week.”

Next up, Clemson faces No. 13 Georgia in a midweek matchup on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at McWhorter Stadium in Clemson, S.C. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. on ACCNX.

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