Photos by Patrick Boling, Clemson Athletics
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. Third-seeded Alabama topped Clemson, 6-0, in the matchup of first-game winners on Saturday in front of a full Rhoads Stadium. The Tigers (43-7) scattered four hits against Alabama starter Montana Fouts, who struck out 16 Clemson batters to tie her career high.
The Crimson Tide (47-7) hit eight singles off of Clemson starter Valerie Cagle in piecing together their six runs. McKenzie Clark and Alia Logoleo each went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles off Fouts, but the Tigers were otherwise unable to get much going off the Alabama righty.
Alabama opened up the scoring in the bottom of the third after loading the bases on three infield singles, including back-to-back bunts, with no outs. Then, Crimson Tide catcher Bailey Hemphill came up with a two-RBI bloop single that landed in shallow right field.
Cagle, Clark Earn NFCA All-Region Honors
CLEMSON, S.C. Clemson Softball’s
Valerie Cagle (Yorktown, Va.) and
McKenzie Clark (Myakka City, Fla.) have been named National FastPitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region Southeast, the organization announced on Thursday. Cagle was crowned First Team selection as a utility/pitcher, while Clark was tabbed a Second Team recipient as an outfielder. Both Cagle and Clark guided Clemson to its first ACC regular-season championship and an appearance in the 2021 ACC Championship game in its first opportunities to do so.
Cagle was the first player in ACC history to garner both Player-of-the-Year honors, while also claiming the league’s Freshman of the Year award. She was also named a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 10 Finalist and an NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 15 Finalist. She was also the only player in the nation to earn both NFCA Player and Pitcher-of-the-Week honors. The second-year freshman currently leads the ACC
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