It was an exciting weekend for the Clemson softball team as they defeated Michigan State by a score of 8-4 Sunday, finishing the weekend 4-0 against Big 10 opponents.

Knotted at four heading into the top of the 6th, Clemson’s MK Bonamy sent two home on a shot to first base, delivering Clemson their undefeated weekend.

The Tigers(7-4) came out of the gates red hot in the 1st inning, putting up three early runs on the Spartans. After Grace Mattimore got on base off of an error, starting pitcher Valerie Cagle stepped up to bat and sent a deep shot to center field for a 2-run homer. Just moments later, it was Marissa Guimbarda’s turn as she sent a solo shot to deep right center, giving the Tigers a 3-0 lead.

“We started out on fire,” said Clemson head coach John Rittman. “Cagle and Guimbarda with the home runs gave us a lot of energy early in the game giving us a lead.”

In the bottom of the first, Cagle opened the game scorching hot in the circle, striking out the first three batters she faced of the game. She had a total of five strikeouts in the game.

Starting out slow, Michigan State picked their game up heavily in the third inning making the most out of a few Clemson errors. With Kennedy Wyllie and Catie Ladd opening the inning with back to back singles and a sac bunt advancing the base runners, MSU scored three straight runs off of errors by the Clemson defense, bringing them within one.

“We had a really bad inning defensively behind Cagle,” said Rittman. “They came back and tied the game but this team has been fighting back all year long. It showed again today.”

Heading into the bottom of the 5th with Cagle walking two to start the inning, the Tigers opted to hand over the circle to Logan Caymol. After striking out the first batter she faced, Caymol hit back to back batters sending in a run and tying the game at four.

This was the sole run allowed with Caymol on the mound as she closed out the game with six strikeouts and picked up the win.

“I’ve had to prepare myself to come into situations like this for a while,” said Logan Caymol. “It’s a tough situation to go into but I know my defense is always going to have my back and I know that no matter if that one run scores our batters are going to have my back.”

With MSU mounting a comeback, the Tigers came back to life in the 6th inning. Caymol led off the inning reaching base on an uncommon error, giving Clemson the momentum they needed to start their run.

“I think the biggest thing is that we’re fighters,” said the Tigers head coach. “We’ve been down some games and come back. As a coach you’re always pleased when the team never quits when they’re down and behind.”

With multiple errors coming on Michigan State’s side and an intentional walk of Cagle, the Tigers were able to get three on with one out and took advantage. MK Bonamy stepped up and hit a hard liner to first, causing yet another error for MSU while sending in two runs. Just a play later, Guimbarda sent Cagle and Bonamy home on a double, sealing the Tigers victory.

“It feels great finding my pitch and swinging hard,” said Guimbarda. “The biggest advice I can give anyone is don’t get cheated; no matter the count you should always swing hard. That’s my mindset out there.”

Guimbarda had a monster weekend for Clemson batting .500 with four homeruns and nine RBIs over four games while leading Clemson to a 4-0 record.

We will next see Clemson softball Tuesday, February 18th when the Tigers travel to Greensboro to take on UNC Greensboro.