How Clemson softball's eighth inning put Women's College World Series bid on hold
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@gannett.com 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
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Caleb Williams Watch: How Bears QB performed on Day 7 of training camp
The Chicago Bears continued training camp on Wednesday morning with their seventh practice of the summer, and there was plenty to break down from Day 7 -- including the performance of quarterback Caleb Williams. Williams is entering his second season following a rocky rookie year that included two head coaches, three offensive coordinators, being sacked a league-high 68 times, a 10-game losing streak and a 5-12 record. But the Bears prioritized Williams' development this offseason with the hiring of offensive guru Ben Johnson as head coach, overhauling the interior offensive line and adding even more weapons to the mix. All eyes will be on Williams this summer as he continues to learn Johnson's offense and looks to find a rhythm heading into Year 2. We're taking a look at the good, the bad and the noteworthy with Williams from the seventh practice of Bears training camp: The Good Williams has really stepped up following a rough start to training camp, and that continued into Wednesday's lighter, red-zone simulated practice. According to Bear Report's Zack Pearson, the starting offense got off to a strong start during the 11-on-11 period. Williams connected with wide receivers DJ Moore, Olamide Zaccheaus and rookie Luther Burden III on consecutive pass attempts. His best was to Burden, where Williams "threaded the needle" (per The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain) in the completion inside the five-yard line. While the final 11-on-11 red zone period wasn't pretty (more on that below), Williams still managed to put an exclamation on it with a touchdown on a read option. The Bad While Williams and the starting offense got off to a strong start, they did struggle during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, per Pearson. During the low red zone 7-on-7 work, Williams completed just 1 of 5 passes (his completion coming to running back Kyle Monangai out of the backfield for a touchdown.) One of his incompletions was to rookie tight end Colston Loveland, who slipped and fell down and was unable to haul it in. Pearson noted that during 11-on-11 that Williams went 0-for-2 and was sacked. But Williams did use his legs to find the end zone on a read option. The Noteworthy The Bears used their first two draft picks on offensive weapons for Williams, so it's a good thing that both are already showcasing they can be impact players in this offense -- and favorite targets for the second-year quarterback. The past two days have been about Williams' connection with rookie tight end Colston Loveland. But Wednesday's practice showed that Williams also has a budding connection with rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III, who practiced in team drills for just the second time. Burden was on the receiving end of two of the best plays of the day in this rather uneventful practice. On the first play, Williams hit Burden across the middle and the second-round rookie ran into the end zone prompting an ovation from the fans in attendance. On the second play, Burden made an impressive catch in the back of the end zone -- which Greg Braggs called "the play of the day" -- where it's up for debate whether he was in bounds or not. Still, it was a great catch. It's worth noting that this is the first time Williams has had the opportunity to throw to Loveland and Burden as both missed the veteran portion of the offseason program due to injury. The more reps the young rookies get with Williams, the more dangerous this offense becomes. Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Caleb Williams Watch: How Bears QB performed on Day 7 of training camp
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sophie Cunningham Facing Criticism For 'Weird' Behavior With Teammates
Sophie Cunningham Facing Criticism For 'Weird' Behavior With Teammates originally appeared on The Spun. WNBA star Sophie Cunningham might be playing some of the best basketball of her career right now, and yet, she's receiving a decent amount of criticism on social media. Cunningham stepped up for the Indiana Fever on Sunday, dropping 17 points in a 78-74 victory over the Seattle Storm. She has really stepped up during Caitlin Clark's absence, averaging 11.7 points per contest over the past two weeks. Off the court, Cunningham is keeping herself busy with her new "Show Me Something" podcast. During her debut episode, she ripped the current state of officiating in the WNBA. "If I was a ref, I know I would mess up all the time," Cunningham said. "I'm not saying that your job is easy. But when it is a a simple call right in front of your face multiple times, what are you doing? What are you doing? They're just so inconsistent. Like, if you're on the other team and you're going to be fining the [expletive] out of me, cool. But let me do it to you. Yeah. You know what I mean?" For the most part, fans appreciated Cunningham's honesty on her podcast. What they didn't like was her pregame interaction with Fever guard Sydney Colson Cunningham and Lexie Hull basically sat on Colson as she was lacing up her sneakers on the hardwood. It seemed like a playful interaction, but some people found it to be weird and downright childish. "This is actually very weird," one fan replied after seeing this video. "Diabolical," a second fan commented. "That is so childish," another fan wrote. "I don't like this one bit and I'm not debating," a fourth fan said. The Fever are riding a five-game winning streak right now, so there shouldn't be any concerns about the culture in the locker room. Besides, this genuinely seemed like a joke between teammates and nothing more. Do you think Cunningham crossed the line? Or are her critics trying to make something out of nothing?Sophie Cunningham Facing Criticism For 'Weird' Behavior With Teammates first appeared on The Spun on Aug 4, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Angels lose Chris Taylor to another broken hand, Jorge Soler to lower back inflammation
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels outfielder Chris Taylor is likely to be sidelined for at least the next six weeks after breaking his left hand for the second time this season. Outfielder Jorge Soler also went on the 10-day injured list Saturday with lower back inflammation before the Angels hosted the Seattle Mariners. Taylor got hurt on an awkward fall while trying to make a catch in the outfield during the seventh inning Friday night. The veteran had just returned to the active roster Monday after being out since June 9, when his left hand was broken by a pitch from the Athletics' Tyler Ferguson. 'Just the fluke accident, sort of, on that play,' Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said. 'Anytime you're coming back from an injury like that, you're at risk of having something like that happen. He works hard to get everything back, to get to the point to help us ... so I do, I feel terrible.' Taylor has batted .189 while appearing in just 15 games for the Angels since the two-time World Series champion was dropped by the Dodgers in May. The 33-year-old Soler has been playing through back soreness in recent weeks, and the Angels ultimately decided to pause his daily routine to provide him with an extended chance to rest. 'It's a real thing,' Montgomery said. 'If you haven't been out there and it's later in your career and you've taken breaks from that stuff, it's not easy to do. And I applaud what he did when he was out there, because he was actually very good to my eye, given the circumstance. But it's not something we can put on him through the end of the year. So we've got to figure out something.' Soler, the 2021 World Series MVP with Atlanta, is batting .215 with 12 homers, 34 RBIs and 94 strikeouts in an unimpressive first season for the Angels. The Angels recalled outfielder Gustavo Campero and infielder Scott Kingery from Triple-A Salt Lake to fill the roster spots. LaMonte Wade Jr. played right field in Soler's place Saturday night. ___ AP MLB: Greg Beacham, The Associated Press
