Taylor Pipkins idea of celebrating a quarterfinal win in the 2025 ACC Championships might be a little different than one of her older teammates.
“I think my mom bought me some cookies, so I think I will go eat those and celebrate,” Clemson’s right fielder said on the ACCN following the second seeded Tigers’ 7-4 victory over No. 7 Virginia Thursday at Harrington Village in Brighton, Mass.
Pipkins’ youthful spirit is what makes the 2025 Clemson Softball team so special. With so many young players like Pipkins on the roster, the Tigers are playing loose and just having fun.
“Coach [John] Rittman has done a great job just making us feel like a family,” the true freshman said. “His whole model is to play loose and have fun. I feel like a lot of us have taken that into account when we go out there.
“We have the training, and we have the ability to go out there and compete. He really just trusts us and, I think, him giving us the opportunity in these big moments has instilled confidence in all of us.”
There was no bigger moment than the one Pipkin found herself in than in the bottom of the sixth inning. Clemson (42-12) was trailing the Cavaliers by a run when it loaded the bases with no outs.
Pipkins ran the count to 2-2 after she bunted the softball foul on what was going to be a squeeze play to try and push the tying run across.
It was a good thing it did not work.
On Eden Bigham’s next pitch, Pipkins launched a bomb to leftfield that cleared the wall for a grand slam. It ultimately turned out to be the game winner.
“Right now, I am just feeling excited,” she said. “I am feeling the moment does not get too big. I am just happy I was able to come through for my team.”
Taylor’s grand slam was not the only time she came through for her team on Thursday. She also made a diving catch in right field to rob Jade Hylton of a sure extra base hit to lead off Virginia’s fourth inning.
“Actually, I am an infielder, who is now a converted outfielder, currently. So, I feel like the instincts for playing the infield kind of prepped me for that moment to just be able to read a ball like that and trust myself to layout and trust my hands,” Pipkins said.
Pipkins is one of four true freshmen that have consistently contributed for the Tigers this season, including what set up her game-winning grand slam.
Fellow freshman Macey Cintron led off the Clemson sixth with a walk and senior Aby Vieira was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. That is when freshman Marian Collins laid down a well-placed push bunt between the pitcher and first baseman to load the bases for Pipkins.
By the way, Ava Wilson, another freshman who has played in 46 games this year, was running for Cintron.
“They are great, honestly. It has not really been hard,” said senior second baseman Maddie Moore when asked about the clutch play of her freshmen teammates. “They ask a lot of questions. They are super great.
“They want to be here. They are excited to be here. They have my back, and I have theirs. It is a very well-rounded community we have built. We have a lot of fun and we all really, really love each other.”
And that is showing on the field. No matter if its Cintron hitting the game-tying home run in the late innings of a win at Georgia Tech, or Collins blasting two home runs, including an extra innings walk-off to beat rival South Carolina or Pipkins’ late-inning heroics to return the Tigers to the ACC Semifinals, Clemson’s freshmen have definitely put the fun in the winning.
“I got the opportunity to deliver right there, but I know if it was anybody else, they would have too,” Pipkins said. “I am just happy I came through for my team.”
And there is no better way of celebrating that than by eating some celebratory cookies.
–photo courtesy of ACC Communications