CLEMSON – Clemson’s pitching duel against Northwestern Saturday at McWhorter Stadium featured three total pitchers, 11 hits, four walks, one run, and a Tigers victory.

In their 1-0 victory, the Tigers started reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year Reese Basinger, who entered the game with a 16-5 record and a 2.97 ERA. The Evans, Ga., native allowed no runs with three strikeouts and no walks in 3.1 innings of work. 

In the fourth inning, the Wildcats ripped two consecutive one-out singles, the only hits allowed by Basinger, to put runners on first and third base. After a quick circle visit with head coach John Rittman, a now-familiar walk-up song blared through the speakers at McWhorter Stadium. 

Righty pitcher Brooke McCubbin, on a seven-game winning streak, took the circle to relieve Basinger. In those last six decisions, McCubbin came into the game as a reliever.

With the Wildcats 60 feet away from breaking a 0-0 stalemate, McCubbin and the Tigers’ defense answered by forcing two quick outs to end the fourth inning. 

One half inning later, the Tigers found their first offensive success as leadoff batter Aby Vieira reached first on a fielding error and Marian Collins singled to put runners on first and second base. With no outs, freshman right fielder Taylor Pipkins lined into a triple play to end the inning and negate any offensive momentum the Tigers cultivated. 

It was not long until McWhorter Stadium erupted again as McCubbin answered with a strikeout and two groundouts to sit down the Wildcats in order.

In 5.2 innings of work, McCubbin allowed only two hits, one walk, and no hits while striking out two of the 20 batters she faced. The Locust Grove, Ga., native improved her record to 18-5 with seven consecutive wins, six of which came from the bullpen.

“We went to Brooke, and she’s just been fabulous in relief for us and got us out of that jam, and then just pitched a terrific game the rest of the way,” Rittman said.

McCubbin’s performance was particularly crucial Saturday because of the scarcity of hits allowed by Northwestern pitcher Lauren Boyd. In nine total innings and 150 pitches, Boyd allowed only one run off of seven hits, along with nine strikeouts. With the loss, her record fell to 15-5 on the season.

“I tip my hat to (Boyd),” McCubbin said. “She did amazing, and she kept our batters off balance very well, and she got out of jams. We put some pressure on her in a couple innings that we were going to score, and she stayed confident and stayed calm and got out of those.”

According to McCubbin, trusting veteran players like second baseman Maddie Moore and catcher Aby Vieira gives her the confidence to play freely. The Tigers’ defense, spearheaded by Moore, Viera, and third baseman Alex Brown, forced 27 put-outs and recorded no errors in the win.

Sophomore Kylee Johnson also robbed Northwestern’s Kaylie Avvisato of a possible home run to start the sixth inning, and then in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the potential winning run at second base, Brown made a diving catch by the Wildcats’ bullpen to end the inning. 

“Knowing that I got people like Maddie Moore behind me and also Aby catching helps me stay confident and know that my offense, as long as I do my job, they’re going to keep us in the game and do theirs,” McCubbin said.

With the win, McCubbin and the Tigers advance to the Clemson Regional Championship on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. With a victory, the Tigers can advance to a Super Regional for the third time in program history.