Latest news with #BrookeMcCubbin
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How Clemson softball's eighth inning put Women's College World Series bid on hold
Clemson softball was 60 feet away from making a trip to Oklahoma City for its first Women's College World Series. Marian Collins and Taylor Pipkins both hit no-out singles in the eighth inning, then advanced to third and second base, respectively, after a wild pitch. But Clemson's offense stalled, putting that coveted flight on pause, as Kylee Johnson struck out, Jamison Brockenbrough lined out and Alex Brown grounded out to end the inning in heartbreaking fashion Advertisement "There's so many ways you can score from third base, and you're hoping that one of three hitters gets the job done there," Clemson coach John Rittman said. " . . . It's just unfortunate we couldn't get it in, but that's softball." The lull led to No. 11 overall seed Clemson's 7-5 loss on May 23 to No. 6 Texas in Game 2 of the Austin Super Regional at Red and Charline McCombs Field. The Longhorns (50-12) forced a winner-take-all Game 3 on May 24 (9 p.m. ET). The moment was tailor-made for Clemson (48-13), but it could not capitalize. The Longhorns had no answer for closer Brooke McCubbin, who entered in the fifth, allowing two runs in the inning, but held them scoreless the next three innings, including a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth and eighth. Still, Johnson, Brockenbrough and Brown did not attempt to bunt and could not put the ball in play deep enough to send Collins home for the winning run, which would have been Clemson's 12th walk-off win this season and its second straight upset win in Austin. Advertisement "We certainly had opportunities, you're this close and you gotta be able to put the nail in the coffin, and we didn't do that tonight," Rittman said. "Against a good Texas team, you're going to pay the price for that." The bill came due for Clemson as Texas ace pitcher Teagan Kavan, who entered in relief in the fourth inning, developed immense confidence. After escaping the eighth-inning jam, she proceeded to record three strikeouts, force two flyouts and a fielder's choice and allow two base hits and a walk in the final two innings to keep Clemson scoreless. Clemson had 13 hits but left 11 runners on base and was 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and 4-for-19 with runners on. As Clemson's offense stalled, Texas' came alive in the 10th inning, getting after McCubbin as she exceeded 100 pitches. She allowed a leadoff single, and a second player got on base thanks to a fielding error by Collins. A sacrifice bunt advanced both, and Kaydee Bennett's RBI sacrifice fly scored the go-ahead run. Advertisement Clemson had its chance to finish off Texas for good, but its miscues snapped its 11-game winning streak and has given the Longhorns life. Now, the Tigers will play in the biggest game in the program's six years of existence for the right to go to the Women's College World Series. "I told them, 'Listen, in February, when we were 3-6, if you said we can be in Texas, and we can play one game to see who goes to the World Series, would you guys take it?' and they all agreed," Rittman said. Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@ and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00 This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson softball: How Tigers blew opportunity to make WCWS vs Texas
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Clemson squeezes past Northwestern 1-0 in 9 innings to reach regional final
CLEMSON, S.C. (Clemson SID) – Senior catcher Aby Vieira hit her first triple of the season down the right field line in the ninth inning and then scored on a perfectly executed squeeze bunt from freshman Marian Collins to lift 11-seed Clemson (46-12) to a 1-0 win over Northwestern (30-19-1) in the NCAA Tournament at McWhorter Stadium. Clemson, which played as the designated visitor for the contest, did not commit an error in tying its longest NCAA game in its five tournament appearances. Clemson pitchers Reese Basinger and Brooke McCubbin combined to allow just four hits and one walk in 9.0 innings. McCubbin (18-4) earned the win, going 5.2 innings in relief, and getting the game's final out on a strikeout, her second of the game. Northwestern's Lauren Boyd (15-5), a second-team All-Big Ten performer, went the distance for the Wildcats, throwing 150 pitches and striking out nine. The Tigers will face the winner of tonight's elimination game between Northwestern and the winner of Kentucky/USC Upstate on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Northwestern strung together the first two consecutive hits by either program in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out. With runners on first and third, the Tigers turned to relief pitcher McCubbin for the final two outs. McCubbin needed only four pitches for a pop-up and a groundout that forced the Wildcats to leave two stranded. Clemson's first two runners got on in the top of the fifth on an error and a single from Collins, but Northwestern swiftly ended the threat with a triple play, catching Taylor Pipkins's line drive to shortstop, and getting both runners before they could return to their respective bases. The Tigers threatened again in the sixth, this time with two outs as Alex Brown drew a walk and Maddie Moore hit an infield single to short. Julia Knowler lifted a fly ball to the deepest part of the park, but it was caught on the warning track to end the inning. Just one pitch later in the bottom half of the inning, it was Kylee Johnson making a catch up against the left field wall off the bat of Avvisado. McCubbin retired the next two batters to move on to the seventh. For the second consecutive inning, Clemson's first two batters were retired, but the Tigers came close to breaking through. After Collins worked a walk, Pipkins singled to left and Johnson singled to short to load the bases with two out. Jamison Brockenbrough hit a 3-1 pitch toward the gap, but the ball hung up long enough to be caught and send the game to the bottom of the seventh. Northwestern's leadoff hitter reached on a single up the middle and she was bunted over. McCubbin then induced a fly ball to left, and a foul out. The final out came on a spectacular diving play by the third baseman Brown, who made the catch just inches from the Northwestern dugout. Vieira tripled down the right field line, her first of the season, with one out in the ninth. Collins dropped a bunt just out in front of the plate to score Vieira, and beat out the throw at first, to give Clemson a 1-0 lead. McCubbin allowed a single with one out in the ninth, but caught an infield pop-up and struck out the game's final batter to secure the win and advance the Tigers to their fourth regional championship game in program history. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kylee Johnson hits 2-run HR in 7th to lift Clemson past Florida St. 2-1 in ACC Softball Tournament Championship Game
BRIGHTON, Mass. (Clemson SID) – A seventh-inning two-run blast off the bat of sophomore Kylee Johnson secured the 2-1 victory against Florida State for the first ACC Championship title for the Clemson Tigers. The Tigers improved to 43-12 following the win, while the top-seeded Seminoles dropped to 46-9. Senior Brooke McCubbin earned her 15th victory on the season and third of the ACC Tournament. Fellow senior Reese Basinger started the game and went the first three innings, striking out one and getting tagged for just one run. McCubbin came on in the fourth and pitched the final four frames, allowing only four hits. The Tiger pitching tandem stranded nine Seminoles and held Florida State 0-8 with runners in scoring position. The Tigers looked to strike early with two singles and a walk that loaded the bases with two outs, but the Tigers were held scoreless. In the bottom, a fielding error and a bunt single put runners on first and second for the Seminoles with nobody out, but with two on, the Clemson defense stood tall. A grounder found its way to Alex Brown who stepped on third and threw across the diamond for a double play. Following the twin killing, a steal attempt was snuffed out by Aby Vieira who caught the runner at third to end the frame. The Seminoles opened the scoring in the bottom of the third with a leadoff home run to center field. Basinger retired three of the next four Seminoles and the solo shot was the lone run of the inning and the afternoon for FSU. McCubbin came on to relieve Basinger with one on and no outs in the fourth. She stranded two Seminoles on the bases to end the inning and kept them quiet the rest of the way. In the top of the seventh, Marian Collins worked a walk and got on base to lead off the inning. With one out, Johnson unloaded on a 2-2 pitch to center field to score Collins and give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. In the bottom, the first two Seminoles reached base, but McCubbin forced a deep flyout and froze the next batter to put the Tigers within one out of the title. On the first pitch of the at bat, the ball popped into center and fell harmlessly into the glove of Jamison Brockenbrough, and the party began in Brighton as the Tigers captured their first ACC Championship. The Tigers landed four on the ACC Championship All-Tournament team with freshman Taylor Pipkins being named the Tournament MVP. Additional Tigers selected included: senior Aby Vieira, senior Maddie Moore and senior Brooke McCubbin. Up Next The ACC Champion Tigers await their NCAA postseason designation that will be determined on Sunday, May 11 at 7 p.m. during the NCAA Softball Championship Selection Special on ESPN2. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pipkins grand slam powers Clemson past Virginia in the quarterfinals of ACC softball tournament, 7-4
BRIGHTON, Mass. (Clemson SID) – A sixth inning grand slam by freshman Taylor Pipkins was the difference in a back-and-forth battle, as the two-seeded Clemson Tigers (42-12) defeated seventh-seeded Virginia Cavaliers (37-17) in the ACC Championship Quarterfinals, 7-4, on Thursday evening. With the win, the Tigers advance to their fifth ACC Championship Semifinals and will take on the winner of Virginia Tech/North Carolina on Friday. Senior Reese Basinger started the game in the circle by breezing through the first 3.1 innings, striking out three Cavaliers and facing the minimum. A single through the right side of the infield gave the Hoos their first hit of the game, and a stolen base put the lone runner in scoring position. A pop fly to Maddie Moore and a running catch by Kylee Johnson ended the Virginia threat and kept both sides scoreless. Clemson saw the leadoff hitter reach in each of the first four innings and finally broke through in the fourth. Julia Knowler notched her team-high 17th double to open the frame. Her pinch runner, Kennedy Ariail, stood on third after advancing on a groundout to second. Senior Aby Vieira stepped up to the plate and shot the first pitch she saw through the left side of the infield to bring Knowler home and plate the Tigers' first run of the game. After the first two runners reached in the fifth, Clemson called on the veteran Brooke McCubbin in relief. Virginia loaded the bases and with two outs, dropped one into no man's land in center and scored two. McCubbin retired the next batter and the Tigers headed to the dugout down 2-1. After the first two Tigers were retired in the fifth, Alex Brown hit a flare to center for a single and put a runner on for Moore. In a 2-1 count, she golfed a home run over the center field wall for her team-high 16th of the season to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead. Her 16 home runs this year are the third most in a single season in school history. In the top half of the sixth, Virginia reclaimed the lead with a leadoff single followed by a home run. McCubbin retired the next three and Clemson headed to the bottom of the frame trailing by one. The freshmen delivered for the Tigers in the sixth as Macey Cintron led off by working a walk in a full count. Vieira was hit by a pitch, and a push bunt from Marian Collins rolled by the charging first baseman. Everyone reached safely and the heat was on for Pipkins. In a 2-2 count, the freshman belted one well over the left field wall for her third long ball of the season and gave the Tigers a 7-4 lead with three outs to go. A quick 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh gave Brooke McCubbin her 14th win of the season and gave Clemson its seventh ACC Championship win in program history. Up Next Clemson will return to the diamond on Friday, May 9 for an ACC Championship Semifinal matchup against the winner of Virginia Tech/North Carolina. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on ACC Network. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
