Virginia drops series opener with Clemson

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia (6-6, 2-4 ACC) fell in the series opener with Clemson (10-2, 5-2 ACC) at Palmer Park on Friday, falling by a score of 9-1 to the Tigers in five innings.

Morgan Murphy (1-1) suffered the loss for the Cavaliers, allowing eight runs – seven of them earned – on seven hits with three strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work.

Valerie Cagle (7-1) picked up the win for Clemson, allowing one run on five hits with a walk and four strikeouts in her 5.0 innings of work.

Clemson got on the board in the first inning with a two-out, RBI single from left fielder Alia Logoleo that scored McKenzie Clark. Clark reached when she was hit by pitch and then stole second to get into scoring position. A double to right field from Grace Mattimore plated Logoleo before Virginia would get out of the inning.

The Tigers extended the lead in the third inning with a two-run home run from Cagle.

Virginia got on the board in the fourth with three straight hits, sparked by a double from Donna Friedman (Orange, Calif.) Two batters later she came home as Savana Avilla (Phoenix, Ariz.) singled through the left side.

Clemson responded in the fifth, pushing five runs across the plate with the help of a grand slam to take the lead out to 9-1. Virginia was unable to get a run across in the home half of the inning, despite getting a runner in scoring position, as Clemson took the series-opening win.