Clemson Softball sweeps opening season tournament

Clemson Softball completed a perfect five-game sweep at the Felsberg Invitational with a 4-0 win over the Florida International Panthers on Sunday.

Valerie Cagle was the star of the game. She pitched a complete game shutout. Cagle had eleven strikeouts and is now 2-0 on the season.

Cagle also got the Tigers moving on the offensive side by opening up the bottom of the fourth with a single. Julia Bomhardt came in as a pinch runner and scored soon after on a sac fly from Caroline Jacobsen.

Cagle added an RBI in the fourth inning, bringing home Maddie Moore. Moore got on base with a double that scored Kyah Keller and McKenzie Clark.

Jojo Hyatt leads the team with eight RBIs through the first five games. Moore has six, Jacobsen has five, and Clark and Cagle have four.

Jacobsen tallied three home runs for the Tigers. Clark and Cagle both went yard twice.

Millie Thompson matched Cagle’s wins for the weekend with two, and Brooke McCubbin picked up one win.

For the weekend, Clemson tallied two wins against FIU, two against the Georgia State Panthers and one against the Kansas City Roos. The Tigers had 19 hits against Georgia State on Friday, which set a new program record.

Clemson Softball faces two power programs next weekend

The Tigers are ranked in the Top 10 nationally, so they were expected to be successful during this opening tournament. Nothing can be taken for granted, as Florida State learned this weekend. The Seminoles, ranked No. 4 in the preseason, fell on their home diamond to the Longwood Lancers on Saturday.

The Tigers only take one day off before playing the Furman Paladins in Greenville. They will then host Northwestern and Ohio State for two games each in the ACC-Big Ten challenge. They will play the Wildcats Friday, followed by a doubleheader Saturday with Northwestern in the early game and the Buckeyes in the second game. They wrap up the weekend against Ohio State on Sunday.