2022 Clemson Tigers softball team explained

Sport:	softball
Year:	2022
Team:	Clemson Tigers
Conference:	Atlantic Coast Conference
Short Conf:	ACC
Coachrank:	16
Record:	42–17
Conf Record:	14–10
Head Coach:	John Rittman
Hc Year:	3rd
Asst Coach1:	Kyle Jamieson
Asst Coach2:	Courtney Breault
Stadium:	McWhorter Stadium
Champion:	Clemson Classic Champions
Bowl:	NCAA tournament
Bowl Result:	Stillwater Super Regional

The 2022 Clemson Tigers softball team was the varsity college softball team that represented Clemson University during the 2022 NCAA Division I softball season. This was the third season of Clemson's softball program. The Tigers competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and were led by head coach John Rittman. Clemson played its home games at McWhorter Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

They finished the season 42–17 overall and 14–10 in ACC play to finish in fifth place. As the fifth seed in the ACC tournament, they earned a bye into the Quarter finals where they defeated fourth seed Notre Dame. In the Semifinals they defeated first seed Virginia Tech, but fell to third seed Florida State in the Final. This marked the back-to-back appearances in the Final of the ACC Tournament in the program's first two full seasons. The Tigers were selected, via at-large bid, as the tenth overall seed in the NCAA tournament. They hosted a regional and were placed into the Stillwater Super Regional. They defeated,, and Louisiana in their Regional to advance to face in the Super Regional. Clemson lost both games in Stillwater to end their season.

The team was again led by Valerie Cagle, who finished the season with 16 wins, 13 home runs, and a .308 batting average. Cagle was named First Team All-ACC and to the NFCA All-American First Team. This marked her second year in a row as a First Team All-ACC player and Clemson's first First Team All-American.^[1] McKenzie Clark was named Second Team All-ACC, Alia Logoleo and Millie Thompson were named Third Team All-ACC and Aby Vieira was named to the All-Freshman Team.^[2]

Previous season

The Tigers finished their first full season as a program 44–8 and 29–5 in ACC play to finish in first place and claim the regular season championship. As the first seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated and before losing to in the Final. They earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were placed into the Tuscaloosa Regional. There they defeated Troy twice, but lost to Alabama twice to end their season.

Personnel

Coaches

Schedule

Legend
	Clemson win
	Clemson loss
	Cancellation
Bold	Clemson team member
	Non-Conference game
†	Make-Up Game

2022 Clemson Tigers softball game log^[5]
Regular season
February (11–3) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record ACC record Feb 10 at * No. 15 FGCU Softball Complex • Fort Myers, FL (FGCU Kickoff Classic) W 11–0 (5) Cagle (1–0) Oakes (0–1) None 375 1–0 0–0 Feb 11 vs * No. 15 FGCU Softball Complex • Fort Myers, FL (FGCU Kickoff Classic) W 8–0 (5) Spencer (1–0) Lebeau (0–1) None 0 2–0 0–0 Feb 11 vs No. 10 Texas* No. 15 FGCU Softball Complex • Fort Myers, FL (FGCU Kickoff Classic) L 0–4 Dolcini (1–0) Cagle (1–1) None 200 2–1 0–0 Feb 12 vs * No. 15 FGCU Softball Complex • Fort Myers, FL (FGCU Kickoff Classic) W 8–0 (6) McCubbin (1–0) O'Donnell (0–2) None 130 3–1 0–0 Feb 13 vs * No. 15 FGCU Softball Complex • Fort Myers, FL (FGCU Kickoff Classic) Canceled due to inclement weather^[6] 3–1 0–0 Feb 17 vs * No. 15 Eddie C. Moore Complex • Clearwater, FL (St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational) W 8–0 (5) Cagle (2–1) Morgan (0–2) None 330 4–1 0–0 Feb 18 vs No. 18 * No. 15 Eddie C. Moore Complex • Clearwater, FL (St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational) W 4–3 Cagle (3–1) Edmoundson (3–1) None 4,864 5–1 0–0 Feb 19 vs * No. 15 Eddie C. Moore Complex • Clearwater, FL (St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational) L 0–7 Williams (4–0) McCubbin (1–1) None 450 5–2 0–0 Feb 19 vs * No. 15 Eddie C. Moore Complex • Clearwater, FL (St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational) L 1–2 Schwartz (4–1) Cagle (3–2) None 1,449 5–3 0–0 Feb 20 vs No. 6 Washington* No. 15 Eddie C. Moore Complex • Clearwater, FL (St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational) W 2–0 Cagle (4–2) Plain (4–1) None 550 6–3 0–0 Feb 23 at * No. 14 W 5–2 Thompson (1–0) Walljasper (5–1) Cagle (1) 450 7–3 0–0 Feb 25 No. 14 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC (Clemson Classic) W 8–0 (5) Cagle (5–2) Boaz (2–3) None 1,616 8–3 0–0 Feb 25 No. 14 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC (Clemson Classic) W 2–0 Spencer (2–0) Marsden (4–2) None 1,616 9–3 0–0 Feb 26 No. 14 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC (Clemson Classic) W 10–5 McCubbin (2–1) Petrof (0–2) Cagle (2) 1,616 10–3 0–0 Feb 26 Boston University* No. 14 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC (Clemson Classic) W 7–3 Thompson (2–0) Lizzy (3–4) None 1,616 11–3 0–0 March (11–7) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record ACC record Mar 1 No. 14 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 6–0 Spencer (3–0) Lyon (1–5) None 1,616 12–3 0–0 Mar 4 No. 6 No. 14 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC L 1–6 Rochard (7–2) Cagle (5–3) None 1,616 12–4 0–1 Mar 5 No. 6 Virginia Tech No. 14 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC L 0–4 Lemley (6–1) Thompson (2–1) None 1,616 12–5 0–2 Mar 6 No. 6 Virginia Tech No. 14 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC L 2–4 Rochard (8–2) Cagle (5–4) Lemley (1) 1,616 12–6 0–3 Mar 9 No. 17 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 3–0 Thompson (3–1) Pitts (1–8) McCubbin (1) 1,616 13–6 0–3 Mar 12 No. 17 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 3–1 Cagle (6–4) McQueen (2–2) None 1,616 14–6 0–3 Mar 13 Illinois* No. 17 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 4–0 Thompson (4–1) Sickels (5–3) None 1,616 15–6 0–3 Mar 13 No. 17 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 5–4 (8) McCubbin (3–1) Keeney (8–5) None 1,616 16–6 0–3 Mar 14 Liberty* No. 17 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 1–0 (8) Cagle (7–4) Kirby (1–3) None 1,616 17–6 0–3 Mar 16 No. 17 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 8–0 (5) McCubbin (4–1) Basinger (3–5) None 1,616 18–6 0–3 Mar 18 at No. 13 No. 17 L 2–6 St. George (12–1) Cagle (7–5) None 585 18–7 0–4 Mar 19 at No. 13 Duke No. 17 Duke Softball Stadium • Durham, NC W 10–2 (5) Thompson (5–1) Wright (4–1) None 534 19–7 1–4 Mar 20 at No. 13 Duke No. 17 Duke Softball Stadium • Durham, NC L 1–7 St. George (13–1) McCubbin (4–2) None 589 19–8 1–5 Mar 23 at No. 17 * No. 16 L 2–3 Kerpics (10–1) Cagle (7–6) None 1,276 19–9 1–5 Mar 25 No. 16 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 5–2 Thompson (6–1) Harris (6–5) None 1,616 20–9 2–5 Mar 26 Louisville No. 16 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 8–0 (5) Cagle (8–6) Harris (6–6) None 1,616 21–9 3–5 Mar 27 Louisville No. 16 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC L 2–4 (8) Roby (8–4) Cagle (8–7) None 1,616 21–10 3–6 Mar 30 No. 18 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC (Rivalry) W 8–1 Cagle (9–7) Betenbaugh (4–4) None 1,616 22–10 3–6 April/May (15–4) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record ACC record Apr 1 at No. 18 W 12–4 Cagle (10–7) Backes (6–10) None 266 23–10 4–6 Apr 2 at North Carolina No. 18 Williams Field at Anderson Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC W 7–0 Thompson (7–1) George (10–3) None 417 24–10 5–6 Apr 3 at North Carolina No. 18 Williams Field at Anderson Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC W 12–4 (5) Spencer (4–0) Backes (6–11) McCubbin (2) 496 25–10 6–6 Apr 6 No. 18 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 3–2 Cagle (11–7) Tufts (5–9) None 1,616 26–10 6–6 Apr 6 Furman* No. 18 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 8–0 (5) Thompson (8–1) Scott (3–7) None 27–10 6–6 Apr 8 at * No. 18 W 8–0 Cagle (12–7) Muraskin (4–8) None 497 28–10 7–6 Apr 9 at Pittsburgh* No. 18 Petersen Sports Complex • Pittsburgh, PA W 8–6 Spencer (5–0) Drogemull (8–8) None 618 29–10 8–6 Apr 10 at Pittsburgh* No. 18 Petersen Sports Complex • Pittsburgh, PA W 11–3 (5) McCubbin (5–2) Muraskin (4–9) None 795 30–10 9–6 Apr 12 at South Carolina* No. 16 Beckham Field • Columbia, SC (Rivalry) W 3–1 Thompson (9–1) Powell (5–4) Cagle (3) 1,780 31–10 9–6 Apr 14 No. 23 No. 16 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 3–2 Cagle (13–7) Tidd (12–4) None 1,616 32–10 10–6 Apr 15 No. 23 Notre Dame No. 16 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC L 0–4 Holloway (11–2) Thompson (9–2) None 1,616 32–11 10–7 Apr 16 No. 23 Notre Dame No. 16 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 2–1 Spencer (6–0) Becker (8–3) None 1,616 33–11 11–7 Apr 21 at No. 5 No. 17 L 4–5 Watson (13–4) Spencer (6–1) None 973 33–12 11–8 Apr 22 at No. 5 Florida State No. 17 JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex • Tallahassee, FL L 6–7 Watson (14–4) Thompson (9–3) Sandercock (3) 1,285 33–13 11–9 Apr 23 at No. 5 Florida State No. 17 JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex • Tallahassee, FL L 0–6 Sandercock (23–1) Spencer (6–2) None 1,573 33–14 11–10 Apr 27 No. 18 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 6–2 Thompson (10–3) Farr (4–15) None 1,616 34–14 11–10 Apr 29 No. 18 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 4–1 Thompson (11–3) Dennis (16–5) None 1,616 35–14 12–10 Apr 30 Georgia Tech No. 18 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 3–0 Cagle (14–7) Neleman (13–7) None 1,616 36–14 13–10 May 1 Georgia Tech No. 18 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 3–2 (8) Thompson (12–3) Neleman (13–8) None 1,616 37–14 14–10
Postseason
(2–1) Date Seed Rank Opponent Opponent Seed Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record Tournament record May 12 5 No. 15 vs. No. 19 4 Petersen Sports Complex • Pittsburgh, PA W 7–3 Thompson (13–3) Holloway (14–3) None 546 38–14 1–0 May 13 5 No. 15 vs. No. 2 1 Petersen Sports Complex • Pittsburgh, PA W 4–1 Cagle (15–7) Lemley (15–6) None 667 39–14 2–0 May 14 5 No. 15 vs. No. 3 3 Petersen Sports Complex • Pittsburgh, PA L 6–8 Sandercock (29–1) Cagle (15–8) None 667 39–15 2–1
(3–0) Date Opponent Seed Opponent Seed Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record NCAA Clemson Regional Record May 20 4 1 No. 14 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 9–0 (5) Thompson (14–3) Winstead (13–9) None 1,760 40–15 1–0 May 21 2 No. 17 1 No. 14 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 1–0 Cagle (16–8) Penta (24–10) None 1,760 41–15 2–0 May 22 3 1 No. 14 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 8–0 (5) Thompson (15–3) Schorman (17–6) None 1,760 42–15 3–0
(0–2) Date Opponent Seed Opponent Seed Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall record NCAA Stillwater Super Regional Record May 26 7 No. 6 10 No. 14 L 0–2 Maxwell (19–4) Thompson (15–4) None 1,068 42–16 0–1 May 27 7 No. 6 Oklahoma State 10 No. 14 Cowgirl Stadium • Stillwater, Oklahoma Stillwater, OK L 1–5 Day (13–4) Cagle (16–9) Maxwell (3) 1,384 42–17 0–2

Note: All rankings shown are from the NFCA/USA Today poll.

Rankings

See main article: 2022 NCAA Division I softball rankings.

• Various polls did not release during the NCAA tournament. * indicates that the ranking is from pre-tournament for comparison purposes.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2022 NFCA DI All-Americans released. nfca.org. National Fast Pitch Coaches Association. June 1, 2022. June 2, 2022.
2. Web site: 2022 All-ACC Softball Awards Announced. theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. May 11, 2022. June 2, 2022.
3. Web site: Softball Roster. Clemson Tigers. December 25, 2021.
4. Web site: Staff Directory. Clemson Tigers. December 25, 2021.
5. Web site: 2021-22 Softball Schedule. clemsontigers.com. December 25, 2021.
6. Web site: Softball Game vs. Boston College Canceled. clemsontigers.com. Clemson University. February 13, 2022. February 14, 2022.