DURHAM, NC — No. 21 Clemson scored single runs in the first and second innings before pulling away late for an 8-1 win over fourth-seeded Virginia on Thursday afternoon in the ACC Championship at Duke Softball Stadium. With the win, the Tigers improved to 34-16 while advancing to the ACC Championship Semifinals for the fourth straight season while the Cavaliers fell to 32-18.

Clemson started off quickly as the first four batters reached in the top of the first, highlighted by a RBI single by Valerie Cagle for a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers doubled their lead in the second inning. Arielle Oda started things with a one-out single before coming in to score on a RBI single by Alex Brown to make it 2-0.

After Virginia cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Clemson broke through with a three-run inning in the top of the 5th. After loading the bases with one out, McKenzie Clark lifted a sac fly to plate a run and make it 3-1. Alex Brown followed with a two-run single to extend the lead to 5-1.

The Tigers capped off the game in the seventh as Clark drove in a run with a RBI single and Cagle plated two more with a RBI single for the 8-1 win.

Clemson starter Regan Spencer (10-3) earned the win with a complete game two-hitter. Virginia starter Courtney Layne (3-2) suffered the loss after allowing two runs (two earned) on two hits in 1.1 innings.

The Tigers finished the game with 10 hits, led by Brown with three, while the Cavaliers tallied two hits in the contest.

Clemson is back in action on Friday at 1:00 p.m. as they take on host and top-seeded Duke in the ACC Championship Semifinals. 

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