Valerie Cagle anchors Clemson threat vs. Oklahoma
Oklahoma softball might be in a weird position this weekend. For the first time in a long time, you could make a strong argument that the best player isn’t in the crimson and cream.
Best team? Still the Sooners. You can’t debate that at 54-1 overall and on a 46-game winning streak. No. 1 overall seed for a reason.
Best player? That honor might belong to Clemson junior Valerie Cagle. A threat in the circle and at the plate, Cagle has been a huge reason why the 16th-seeded Tigers are heading to Norman this weekend.
Oklahoma had three players in the final 10 for player of the year with junior second baseman Tiare Jennings, junior centerfielder Jayda Coleman and sophomore pitcher Jordy Bahl.
None of them made cut for the final three for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, but Cagle did. And Cagle is the lone one of those three to still be playing this weekend.
Cagle is hitting .467 this season with 19 home runs, 50 runs scored and 57 RBIs. She has 79 hits, which is 21 more than the next player (McKenzie Clark). Cagle’s .899 slugging percentage is nearly 300 points better, and she leads the team in walks (36).
Cagle pitched the Tigers to the Super Regional, with a seven-inning gem vs. Auburn in the ‘if’ game Sunday afternoon. She is now 25-6 this season with a 1.20 ERA with 22 complete games and 186 strikeouts.
Worn down might be the wrong word, but Cagle was 18-1 in the first week of April. And absolutely, she has never seen a lineup like what the Sooners will bring to her.
So in a battle of unknowns, what will carry the day? OU and Clemson have never met in softball. No familiarity factor here. Will Cagle surprise Oklahoma? Or will the Sooners do what they’ve done time and time again and rise up to the challenge?
Game one is 1 p.m. Friday on ESPN2. Game two is Noon on Saturday (TV TBD). No time or TV has been assigned for the ‘if necessary’ game Sunday.
No. 16 Clemson
Record: 49-10 (18-6 ACC)
Head coach: John Rittman (154-43 at Clemson)
Best wins vs. Super Regional field: Northwestern (2x), Georgia
Road to Norman: W vs. UNC-Greenville (17-2), W vs. Auburn (7-0), L vs. Auburn (5-2), W vs. Auburn (5-1).
Best of the Rest
Caroline Jacobsen – .310 avg., 12 HR, 48 RBI
McKenzie Clark – .339 avg., 12 HR, 36 RBI
Alia Logoleo – .299 avg., 10 HR, 50 RBI
Millie Thompson – 14-3, 1.80 ERA, 72 K, 7 CG
