AUSTIN (KXAN) — Clemson made the most of its opportunities to beat Texas 7-4 in the Austin super regional opening game in the NCAA softball tournament Thursday at McCombs Field.
The 11th-seeded Tigers plated three runs in the third inning to take a 3-2 lead, and then tacked on four more in the sixth to hold off the sixth-seeded Longhorns, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 series. It’s the first super regional win in program history for the Tigers since starting in 2020.
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If Clemson wins the second game of the series Friday, scheduled for 8 p.m., they’ll advance to the Women’s College World Series. Texas can force a third game Saturday with a win Friday.
Kayden Henry went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Longhorns. Ashton Maloney and Mia Scott each had two hits; one of Scott’s was a solo home run in the third inning. Texas’ middle of the lineup hitters and RBI leaders Reese Atwood, Katie Stewart and Joley Mitchell went a combined 1-for-11.
Maddie Moore and Julia Knowler drove in three of Clemson’s four runs in the sixth inning to put the game away. Moore smacked an RBI single through the left side, and Knowler followed with a 2-run double to right-center field to give Clemson a 6-2 lead.
Henry hit a 2-run single with two outs in the Texas half of the sixth, but Scott’s line drive with a runner on went straight to the center fielder for the third out, ending the threat.
Clemson out-hit Texas 11-10. Alex Brown led the Tigers with three hits and Moore had two. Marian Collins drove in two runs with a double in the third.
Teagan Kavan allowed five earned runs on nine hits in five innings, taking the pitching loss for the Longhorns. Clemson pitchers Reese Basinger and Brooke McCubbin didn’t strike anyone out and combined to issue two walks.
Lightning delayed the game for about 90 minutes after the second batter of the game.
