Clemson softball falls to Alabama, now faces elimination in NCAA Tournament

On3 imageby:Matt Connolly05/22/21

MattConnollyOn3

Clemson softball’s magical season is one loss away from being over.

The Tigers suffered a 6-0 loss to top seed Alabama Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Tournament as Clemson was unable to get anything going against Crimson Tide star pitcher Montana Fouts.

Clemson (43-7) now falls to the losers’ bracket of the Tuscaloosa Regional.

The Tigers will face the winner of Alabama State and Troy Saturday evening, needing a win to extend their season. Clemson beat Troy Friday afternoon in its first game of the postseason before falling to the Crimson Tide.

Clemson trailed only 2-0 entering the bottom of the sixth inning on Saturday, but the game got away from the Tigers late. A pair of Clemson errors led to four unearned runs, as Alabama pulled away.

Alabama outhit Clemson 8-4, using its speed to give Tigers ace Valerie Cagle trouble.

Of Alabama’s eight hits, three were infield singles. All three came in the third inning, allowing Alabama to take an early 2-0 lead.

Cagle, who was named the ACC Player of the Year, allowed eight hits and walked four in 5 2/3 innings of work. She allowed six runs, but only two were earned.

At the plate, McKenzie Clark and Alia Logoleo had two hits each for the Tigers.

But Fouts struck out 16 Clemson batters and didn’t issue a walk while tossing a complete-game shutout.